JACK  AND  THE  TWINS  RESCUE  THE  INJURED  MAN. 
The  Rover  Boys  on  Sno-wshoe  Island.  Frontispiece— Page  46 


THE  ROVER  BOYS 

ON  SNOWSHOE 

ISLAND 

OR 

THE  OLD  LUMBERMAN'S 
TREASURE  BOX 


BY 
ARTHUR  M.  WINFIELD 

(Edward  Stratemeyer) 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  SCHOOL,"  "THE  ROVES 

BOYS  ON  THE  OCEAN,"  "THE  PUTNAM 

HALL  SERIES,"  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP 

PUBLISHERS 

Made  in  the  United  State*  of  America 


BOOKS  BY  ARTHUR  M.  WINFIELD 

(Edward  Stratemeyer) 


THE  FIRST  ROVER  BOYS  SERIES 

ROVER  B€/YS  AT  SCHOOL 
jiTHE  ROVER  B0*S  ON  THE  OCEAN 
-THE  ROVER  B0YS  IN  THE  JUNGLE 
^THE  ROVER  B0YS  OUT  WEST 
XTHE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  GREAT  LAKES 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS 

.THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  CAMP 
,-THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  LAND  AND  SEA 
*THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  RIVER 
,-THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  PLAINS 

'THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  SOUTHERN  WATERS 
-THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  THE  FARM 

.THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  TREASURE  ISLE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  COLLEGE 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  DOWN  EAST 
-THE  BOVER  BOYS  IN  THE  AIR 
-THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  NEW  YORK 
-THE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  ALASKA 
XTHE  ROVER  BOYS  IN  BUSINESS 
-THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  A  TOUR 


THE  SECOND  ROVER  BOYS  SERIES 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  AT  COLBY  HALL 

THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 


THE  PUTNAM  HALL  SERIES 

THE  PUTNAM  HALL  CADETS 
THE  PUTNAM  HALL  RIVALS 
THE  PUTNAM  HALL  CHAMPIONS 
THE  PUTNAM  HALL  REBELLION 
THE  PUTNAM  HALL  ENCAMPMENT 
THE  PUTNAM  HALL  MYSTERY 


I2mo.    Cloth.    Illustrated. 


GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  New  York 


COPYRIGHT,  1918,  BY 
EDWARD  STRATEMEYER 


The  Rover  Boys  on  Snowshoe  Island 


Stact 
Anne< 


INTRODUCTION 

MY  DEAR  BOYS  :  This  book  is  a  complete  story 
in  itself,  but  forms  the  second  volume  in  a  line 
issued  under  the  general  title,  "The  Second  Rover 
Boys  Series  for  Young  Americans." 

As  mentioned  in  several  volumes  of  the  first 
series,  this  line  was  started  a  number  of  years 
ago  with  the  publication  of  "The  Rover  Boys 
at  School,"  "On  the  Ocean,"  and  "In  the  Jungle." 
In  those  volumes  my  young  readers  were  intro 
duced  to  Dick,  Tom  and  Sam  Rover. 

The  volumes  of  the  first  series  related  the  ad 
ventures  of  the  three  Rover  boys  while  attending 
Putnam  Hall  Military  Academy,  BriH  College, 
and  while  on  numerous  outings. 

These  Rover  boys  were,  of  course,  growing 
steadily  older.  They  met  three  young  ladies  in 
whom  they  became  intensely  interested,  and,  after 
becoming  established  in  business,  three  happy 
marriages  followed.  Presently  Dick  Rover  was 
blessed  with  a  son  and  a  daughter,  as  was  also 
his  brother  Sam,  while  the  fun-loving  Tom  be- 

iii 


iv  INTRODUCTION 

came  the  proud  father  of  twin  boys,  who  were  as 
full  of  spirit  as  their  parent  had  ever  been.  At 
first  the  boys  were  kept  at  home,  but  then  it  was 
thought  best  to  send  them  to  a  boarding  school. 

At  Colby  Hall  the  young  Rovers  made  a  host 
of  friends,  and  also  some  enemies.  They  had  to 
work  hard  over  their  studies,  but  they  had  a  thor 
oughly  good  time. 

In  the  present  volume  the  boys  are  still  at  Colby 
Hall,  but  presently  the  scene  is  shifted  to  Snow- 
shoe  Island,  where  the  lads  go  for  a  short  hunt 
ing  season.  How  they  ran  into  a  most  unusual 
mystery  and  helped  an  old  lumberman  to  estab 
lish  his  claim  to  the  island,  I  will  leave  the  pages 
which  follow  to  relate. 

In  conclusion  I  wish  to  thank  my  numerous 
readers  for  the  many  kind  things  they  have  said 
about  these  Rover  Boys  books,  and  especially 
about  the  initial  volume  in  the  second  series.  I 
trust  that  all  my  readers  will  like  Jack,  Andy 
and  Randy,  and  Fred  as  much  as  they  did  Dick, 
Tom,  and  Sam  Rover. 

Affectionately  and  sincerely  yours, 

EDWARD  STRATEMEYER. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  FUN  ON  THE  ICE I 

II  SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE  ROVER  BOYS 13 

III  OUT  OF  PERIL 23 

IV  OUT  HUNTING 33 

V  UNCLE  BARNEY  STEVENSON 44 

VI  DEEP  IN  THE  WOODS 56 

VII  AN  UNEXPECTED  MEETING 65 

VIII  THE  SLEIGHING  PARTY 76 

IX  A  MISHAP  ON  THE  ROAD 86 

X  SOMETHING  ABOUT  Two  GOATS 96 

XI  THE  JOKE  ON  ASA  LEMM 108 

XII  IN  COLONEL  COLBY'S  OFFICE 119 

XIII  ASA  LEMM  Is  DISMISSED 132 

XIV  OVERHEARING   A   PLOT 143 

XV  AN  ALARM  OF  FIRE 152 

XVI  PUTTING   OUT  THE  FLAMES 161 

XVII  CAUGHT  IN  THE  ACT 168 

XVIII  HOME    AGAIN 177 

XIX  OFF  FOR  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 188 

v 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XX  CAUGHT  IN  A  SNOWSTORM 197 

XXI  AN  ASTONISHING  REVELATION    207 

XXII  THE  FIRST  NIGHT  ON  THE  ISLAND 216 

XXIII  UNEXPECTED  VISITORS 226 

XXIV  AWAROFWORDS 237 

XXV  FACING  THE  WOLVES 247 

XXVI  JACK  FREES  His  MIND 258 

XXVII  THE  BLUE  TIN  Box 268 

XXVIII  UNCLE  BARNEY'S  SECRET 279 

XXIX  THE  DISCOVERY 289 

XXX  SETTLING  ACCOUNTS— CONCLUSION 298 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON 
SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

CHAPTER  I 

FUN    ON    THE   ICE 

"EVERYBODY  ready?" 

"Sure !    Been  ready  half  an  hour." 

"Wait  a  minute,  Frank,  till  I  tighten  my  skal* 
strap,"  cried  Fred  Rover,  as  he  bent  down  to  ad 
just  the  loosened  bit  of  leather. 

"Hurry  up,  Fred,  we  don't  want  to  stand  here 
all  day,"  sang  out  his  Cousin  Andy  gaily. 

"That's  it!  I  want  to  win  this  race,"  broke 
in  Randy  Rover,  Andy's  twin  brother. 

"Now  remember,  the  race  is  to  be  to  the  old 
white  pine  and  back,"  announced  the  starter. 
"Every  contestant  has  got  to  touch  the  tree  before 
he  starts  to  come  back ;  otherwise  he'll  be  counted 
out." 

"You  ought  to  have  a  pistol  to  start  us  with/' 
came  from  Jack  Rover. 


**I  guess  my  old  locomotive  whistle  will  do  for 
that,"  answered  Frank  Newberry.  He  paused  to 
look  at  the  line  of  skaters.  "Now  then,  every 
body  on  the  job!"  and  a  loud  whistle  rent  the  air. 

Instantly  there  was  a  scurry  of  skates,  and  off 
the  line  started  across  Clearwater  Lake  to  where 
a  blasted  pine  tree  reared  its  naked  trunk  against 
the  skyline. 

It  was  a  Saturday  afternoon  in  early  winter, 
and  the  cadets  of  Colby  Hall  Military  Academy 
were  out  in  force  to  enjoy  themselves  on  the 
smooth  ice  of  the  lake,  near  which  the  school  was 
located.  The  cadets  had  been  amusing  themselves 
in  various  ways,  playing  tag  and  hockey,  and  in 
"snapping  the  whip,"  as  it  is  called,  when  Gif 
Garrison,  at  the  head  of  the  athletic  association, 
had  suggested  a  race. 

"We  might  as  well  find  out  who  is  the  best 
skater  in  the  school,"  Gif  had  said. 

"Right  you  are,"  had  come  from  his  particular 
chum,  Spouter  Powell.  "Let  us  get  up  a  race  by 
all  means." 

With  so  many  cadets  who  could  skate  well,  it 
was  an  easy  matter  to  arrange  for  the  contest. 
To  make  the  matter  more  interesting,  one  of  the 
Hall  professors,  Mr.  Brice,  said  he  would  give 
some  prizes  to  the  pupils  coming  in  first,  second 
and  third. 


FUN  ON  THE  ICE  3 

"IT1  give  a  fine  book  of  adventures  to  the  first 
cadet,  and  also  books  to  the  others,"  Mr.  Brice 
announced.  He  was  still  a  young  man,  and  in 
hearty  sympathy  with  everything  in  the  way  of 
outdoor  sports. 

Among  those  to  enter  the  contest  were  Jack 
Rover  and  his  three  cousins,  Fred,  Andy  and 
Randy.  All  were  provided  with  hockey  skates, 
and  each  felt  confident  of  making  a  good  record 
for  himself.  Yet  they  all  knew  that  the  school 
boasted  of  some  fine  skaters,  one  lad  in  particu 
lar,  Dan  Soppinger,  having  won  several  contests 
on  the  ice  in  years  gone  by. 

"We've  got  our  work  cut  out  for  us!"  cried 
Fred  Rover,  as  he  skated  beside  Jack. 

"Save  your  wind,  Fred,"  answered  his  cousin 
briefly. 

"Believe  me,  this  is  going  to  be  some  race'/' 
came  from  Randy,  who  was  on  the  other  side  of 
Jack,  with  his  twin  brother  next  to  him. 

"I  don't  care  who  wins  so  long  as  I'm  not  last," 
responded  his  twin  merrily. 

Over  twenty  cadets  had  started  in  the  contest, 
and  soon  the  line,  which  had  been  fairly  even  for 
a  few  seconds  after  the  whistle  had  sounded,  be 
gan  to  take  on  a  straggly  appearance,  as  some 
skaters  forged  ahead  and  others  fell  behind. 

"Don't  give  up!    Everybody  keep  in  the  race 


4      THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

until  the  finish!"  cried  Professor  Brice  encour 
agingly.  "Remember,  a  race  isn't  over  until  the 
end  is  reached." 

Thus  encouraged,  those  who  were  in  the  rear 
did  their  best  to  overtake  those  ahead.  But  grad 
ually  the  skaters  divided  into  three  groups ;  eight 
in  the  lead,  six  but  a  short  distance  behind  them, 
and  the  others  several  yards  further  to  the  rear. 

In  the  front  group  were  Jack  and  his  cousin 
Randy,  while  Fred  and  Andy  were  less  than  ten 
feet  behind. 

The  distance  across  Clearwater  Lake  was  about 
half  a  mile,  but  the  blasted  pine  tree  was  located 
some  distance  down  the  shore,  so  that  the  race 
would  be  close  to  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length. 

Spouter  Powell  was  in  the  lead  when  the  first 
group  of  skaters  came  up  to  the  pine  tree.  Dan 
Soppinger  was  close  behind  him,  with  Jack  and 
Randy  following.  Behind  Randy  came  Walt 
Baxter,  another  cadet  who  skated  remarkably 
well.  The  others  of  the  first  group  were  grad 
ually  dropping  back  to  the  second  contingent 
Spouter  Powell  touched  the  tree  with  his  finger 
tips,  and  was  followed  almost  immediately  by 
Dan  Soppinger.  As  they  turned  to  go  back  to 
the  starting  point,  they  were  followed  by  Jack' 
and  Randy. 

"Hi,  you  fellows!  what  do  you  mean  by  skat- 


FUN  ON  THE  ICE  5 

ing   so   quick?"   piped   out   Andy   Rover   gaily. 

"We'll  leave  the  tree  to  you,  Andy!"  shouted 
his  twin. 

"I  don't  think  we'll  win,  but,  anyway,  we  won't 
be  last,"  came  from  Fred,  as  he  and  Andy  touched 
the  tree. 

"Well,  we  can't  have  everything  in  this  world," 
was  the  philosophic  reply  from  the  other  Rover 
boy. 

It  could  be  seen  that  the  race  had  now  nar 
rowed  down  to  the  five  who  were  in  the  lead.  Of 
these,  Spouter  Powell  and  Dan  Soppinger  were 
less  than  two  feet  apart,  while  only  a  yard  to  the 
rear  came  Jack,  Randy  and  Walt  Baxter. 

"Go  it,  Randy !"  sang  out  Andy,  as  he  dropped 
still  further  behind.  "Go  it!  I  know  you  can 
win!" 

"Keep  it  up,  Jack!"  yelled  Fred,  who,  being 
the  smallest  of  the  four  Rovers,  found  it  impos 
sible  to  keep  up  the  pace.  "Don't  let  Spouter  and 
Dan  hold  you  back !" 

There  were  numerous  cries  of  encouragement 
for  all  of  the  skaters  as  they  swept  forward  to 
ward  the  starting  point.  Here  a  line  had  been 
drawn  on  the  ice,  and  the  cadets  stood  at  either 
end,  some  with  their  watches  in  their  hands  to 
time  the  winners. 

"I'll  bet  Dan  Soppinger  wins!"  cried  one  of 


6      THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

the  cadets.     "He's  the  best  skater  on  the  lake." 

"Well,  Spouter  Powell  is  a  good  skater,  too,*' 
returned  another. 

"Huh!  what's  the  matter  with  the  Rover 
boys?"  burst  out  a  third  cadet,  round-faced  and 
remarkably  fat — so  fat,  in  fact,  that  he  had  not 
dreamed  of  participating  in  the  contest. 

"I  don't  know  much  about  how  they  can  skate," 
was  the  reply.  "They  weren't  here  last  winter, 
you  remember." 

"Yes,  I  know  that,"  answered  Fatty  Hendry. 

"Here  they  come!" 

By  this  time  the  skaters  were  half  way  on  the 
return  from  the  blasted  pine.  Spouter  Powell 
and  Dan  Soppinger  were  still  in  the  lead,  but  Walt 
Baxter  was  crawling  up  steadily,  while  Jack  and 
Randy  were  close  behind. 

"Say,  this  is  going  to  be  a  neck-and-neck  race!" 
cried  one  of  the  cadets,  Ned  Lowe  by  name.  He 
had  wanted  to  race  himself,  but  knew  that  his 
skates  were  too  dull  for  that  purpose. 

"Stand  back !  Give  them  plenty  of  room !"  ex 
claimed  Professor  Brice,  and  he  took  measures  to 
clear  the  cadets  away  from  the  finishing  line. 

Quite  a  crowd  had  assembled  to  witness  the 
contest,  not  only  cadets,  but  also  some  folks  from 
the  neighboring  town  of  Haven  Point,  and  also 
a  number  of  young  ladies  from  Clearwater 


FUN  ON  THE  ICE  7 

Hall,   a  seminary  located   some  distance  away. 

The  skaters  had  still  a  distance  of  several  hun 
dred  yards  to  cover  when  it  was  seen  that  Spouter 
Powell  was  gradually  falling  behind.  Then  Jack 
Rover  forged  forward,  followed  by  his  Cousin 
Randy. 

"The  Rovers  are  crawling  up !" 

"See,  Jack  Rover  and  his  Cousin  Randy  and 
Dan  Soppinger  and  Walt  Baxter  are  all  in  a 
line!" 

"This  certainly  is  one  close  race !" 

The  excitement  increased  as  the  racers  drew 
closer  to  the  finishing  line.  Walt  Baxter  was 
panting  painfully,  showing  that  he  had  used  up 
almost  every  ounce  of  his  strength. 

"Oh,  dear!  I  do  hope  the  Rovers  come  in 
ahead,"  whispered  one  girl  skater  to  another.  She 
was  a  tall  girl,  remarkably  good  looking  and 
dressed  in  a  suit  of  brown,  with  furs. 

"So  do  I  hope  the  Rover  boys  win,  Ruth,"  an 
swered  her  girl  companion,  "now  that  my  Cousin 
Dick  has  fallen  behind." 

"It's  too  bad,  May,  that  your  Cousin  Dick 
couldn't  have  kept  up,"  answered  Ruth  Steven 
son. 

Closer  and  closer  to  the  finishing  line  crept  the 
four  leading  skaters,  Jack  and  Randy  in  the  mid 
dle,  with  Dan  Soppinger  on  their  left  and  Walt 


8      THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

Baxter  on  their  right    Now  Spouter  Powell  had 
fallen  back  to  the  second  group  of  racers. 

"Here  they  come !" 

"It's  Dan  Soppinger's  race !" 

"Not  much !  Here  comes  Walt  Baxter !  Gee, 
see  him  strike  out !" 

"It's  the  Rovers  who  are  coming  to  the  front  1" 
exclaimed  Ned  Lowe. 

"I  knew  they  couldn't  hold  those  Rover  boys 
back,"  was  Frank  Newberry's  comment.  "Now 
then,  boys,  for  a  final  dash !"  he  shouted. 

All  four  of  the  leading  contestants  were  bend 
ing  forward  and  striking  out  as  powerfully  as 
possible,  their  arms  swinging  from  side  to  side 
like  pendulums  and  their  skates  ringing  clearly 
on  the  smooth  ice. 

For  an  instant  all  were  in  a  line,  then,  by  a 
tremendous  effort,  Walter  Baxter  forged  a  foot 
ahead.  But  almost  instantly  Dan  Soppinger  over 
took  the  other  cadet.  An  instant  later  Randy 
Rover  came  up  beside  the  others,  followed  by  his 
Cousin  Jack. 

The  finishing  line  was  now  less  than  fifty  yards 
away,  and  the  crowd  was  yelling  all  sorts  of 
words  of  encouragement  and  cheering  wildly, 
even  the  girls  and  older  folks  present  being  much 
excited.  Then,  of  a  sudden,  an  exclamation  of 
wonder  rent  the  air. 


FUN  ON  THE  ICE  g 

"Look  at  that,  will  you?  Did  you  ever  see 
such  striking  out  in  your  life?" 

"He's  coming  forward  like  a  cannon  ball  I" 

These  exclamations  had  been  brought  forth  by 
the  sudden  change  of  tactics  on  the  part  of  Jack 
Rover.  Coming  back  from  the  blasted  pine  he 
had  managed  to  hang  close  to  his  opponents,  but 
without  using  up  all  his  reserve  force.  Now  he 
let  out  "for  all  he  was  worth,"  as  he  aftenvards 
declared,  and,  with  strokes  that  could  hardly  be 
seen  for  their  rapidity,  he  forged  in  front  of  Sop- 
pinger  and  Baxter. 

"It's  Jack  Rover's  race !" 

"Look!  Look!  Here  conies  his  Cousin 
Randy!"  yelled  Ned  Lowe. 

"No  use  in  talking — you  can't  hold  those  Rover 
boys  back,"  was  Fatty  Hendry's  comment. 

What  the  cadets  had  said  was  true.  Follow 
ing  the  extraordinary  spurt  made  by  Jack,  Randy 
let  himself  out,  and  in  a  twinkling  had  passed 
Baxter.  Then  he  found  himself  neck-and-neck 
with  Dan  Soppinger,  who  was  struggling  with 
might  and  main  to  catch  up  to  Jack,  just  two  feet 
ahead. 

"Make  room  for  the  winners !" 

"Jack  Rover  wins  the  race !" 

"Yes,  and  Randy  Rover  is  second!" 

"Who  takes  third  place?" 


"Soppinger,  I  guess." 

"No,  I  think  Walt  Baxter  was  a  little  ahead 
of  him." 

"Nonsense!    It  was  a  tie  between  them." 

"Three  cheers  for  the  Rover  boys!"  shouted 
Ned  Lowe,  and  many  cadets  joined  in  the  cheer 
ing. 

Jack  and  Randy  were  quickly  surrounded  by 
many  of  their  chums  and  congratulated  on  their 
success. 

"It  was  a  tie  race  between  Soppinger  and  Bax 
ter,"  announced  Professor  Brice.  "And  that  be%- 
ing  so,  I  will  give  each  of  them  a  third  prize," 
and  with  this  those  two  contestants  had  to  be  con 
tented. 

"You  made  that  race  in  record  time,  Jack," 
announced  Gif  Garrison.  "It  is  better  time  by 
twelve  seconds  than  was  ever  made  before  on 
this  lake." 

"Well,  where  do  I  come  in  ?"  demanded  Randy. 

"You  broke  the  record  by  ten  seconds,"  was  the 
reply.  "And  believe  me,  that's  some  stunt  P' 

"I  guess  I  was  beaten  fairly,"  announced  Dan 
Soppinger,  a  little  ruefully ;  "so  there  is  no  use  of 
complaining." 

"Oh,  it  was  a  fair  and  square  race  sure 
enough,"  answered  Walt  Baxter.  "All  the  same, 
if  my  skates  had  been  just  a  little  sharper  I  think 


FUN  ON  THE  ICE  II 

I  might  have  won,"  he  added  a  little  wistfully. 

"Well,  I  am  glad  the  honors  stay  in  our  family 
anyhow,"  announced  Fred,  as  he  skated  up,  fol 
lowed  by  Andy. 

"And  first  and  second  prizes,  too!"  cried  his 
cousin.  "That  ought  to  be  enough  to  hold  the 
other  fellows  for  awhile." 

Jack  and  Randy  were  both  panting  from  their 
exertions,  but  their  faces  showed  their  satisfac 
tion,  and  especially  did  Jack  look  his  pleasure 
when  he  happened  to  glance  beyond  the  crowd  of 
cadets  and  saw  Ruth  Stevenson  waving  her  hand 
toward  him.  Beside  Ruth  was  May  Powell,  who 
waved  gaily  to  all  of  the  Rovers. 

"Fine  race,  boys !  Fine  race !"  was  Fatty  Hen- 
dry's  comment.  "Just  the  same,  none  of  you 
would  have  been  in  it  for  a  minute  if  I  had  en 
tered,"  and  at  this  joke  there  was  a  general  laugh. 

"Say,  Fatty,  you  should  have  gone  into  it  just 
to  lose  flesh,"  was  Andy's  dry  comment.  "If  you 
tried  real  hard,  you  might  lose  a  pound  a  mile," 
and  at  this  there  was  another  laugh. 

The  crowd  began  to  gather  around  Jack  and 
Randy  and  the  others  who  had  won  the  race,  and 
many  wanted  to  shake  hands  with  the  oldest 
Rover  boy.  Even  some  of  the  town  folks  skated 
up,  and  they  were  followed  by  some  of  the  girls 
from  Clearwater  Hall. 


12    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"1  say,  boys,  this  may  not  be  safe!"  cried 
Professor  Brice  suddenly,  when  the  crowd  on  the 
ice  had  become  unusually  thick.  "This  ice  isn't 
as  strong  as  it  might  be." 

"Yes,  and  with  Fatty  in  the  crowd "  began 

Andy  Rover.  Then,  of  a  sudden,  he  stopped 
short  because  an  ominous  crack  was  heard,  fol 
lowed  by  several  other  cracks. 

"The  ice  is  breaking!" 

"Skate  away,  everybody,  or  we'll  go  down !" 

Instantly  there  was  a  commotion,  and  all  of 
the  skaters  tried  to  break  away  from  the  spot 
where  the  crowd  had  congregated.  The  confu 
sion  was  tremendous,  and  in  the  mix-up  six  or 
eight  persons,  including  Ruth  Stevenson  and  May 
Powell,  were  thrown  down.  Then  came  another 
crack,  and  it  looked  as  if  in  another  instant  the 
ice  would  give  way  completely  and  precipitate 
the  whole  crowd  into  the  cold  waters  of  the  lake. 


CHAPTER  II 

SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE  ROVER  BOYS 

IT  was  a  time  of  extreme  peril,  and  it  is  doubt 
ful  if  any  one  realized  that  more  than  did  Jack 
Rover.  He,  too,  had  been  thrown  down,  and 
across  his  legs  was  sprawled  the  heavy  form  of 
Fatty  Hendry.  It  was  the  toppling  over  of  the 
fat  youth  which  had  caused  one  of  the  cracks 
which  were  now  so  numerous  in  the  ice. 

"Hi !  get  off  of  me !"  yelled  Jack,  and  managed 
to  pull  one  of  his  legs  free;  and  with  this  he 
pushed  the  fat  youth  to  one  side. 

"Help !  help !  We're  going  down !"  came  in  a 
scream  from  May  Powell. 

The  ice  had  become  depressed  where  she  and 
Ruth  Stevenson  stood,  and  both  were  already  in 
a  half  inch  of  water. 

"Scatter!  Everybody  scatter!"  cried  Profes 
sor  Brice,  and  then  rushed  to  one  side,  to  rescue 
several  little  boys  and  girls. 

"Come  on,  Jack,  we've  got  to  help  those  girls  \" 
cried  Randy,  and  caught  his  cousin  by  the  arm, 

13 


I4     THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

thus  assisting  him  to  his  feet.  Then  off  the  pair 
skated,  with  Andy  and  Fred  behind  them,  all 
bent  on  going  to  the  assistance  of  the  girls  from 
Clearwater  Hall. 

Now,  I  know  quite  well  that  to  the  readers  of 
the  former  volumes  in  these  two  "Rover  Boys 
Series,"  all  of  the  Rovers,  both  old  and  young, 
will  need  no  introduction.  But  for  the  benefit  of 
those  who  have  not  perused  any  of  the  previous 
volumes  in  this  line,  a  few  words  concerning  our 
characters  will  not  be  amiss. 

In  my  first  volume,  entitled  "The  Rover  Boys 
at  School,"  I  told  how  three  brothers,  Dick,  Tom 
and  Sam  Rover,  had  been  sent  off  to  Putnam 
Hall  Military  Academy,  where  they  made  a  host 
of  friends,  including  a  manly  and  straightforward 
cadet,  named  Lawrence  Colby.  From  Putnam 
Hall,  the  Rovers  were  sent  to  Brill  College,  and 
after  leaving  that  institution  of  learning  they 
went  into  business  in  Wall  Street,  New  York 
City,  where  they  organized  The  Rover  Company, 
of  which  Dick  was  now  president;  Tom,  secre 
tary;  and  Sam,  treasurer. 

While  at  Putnam  Hall  the  three  Rovers  had 
become  acquainted  with  three  charming  girls, 
Dora  Stanhope  and  her  cousins  Nellie  and  Grace 
Laning.  This  acquaintance  had  ripened  into  lov 
ing  intimacy,  and  when  Dick  went  into  business 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE  ROVER  BOYS  15 

he  had  made  Dora  Stanhope  his  life-long  partner. 
A  short  while  after  this  Tom  married  Nellie  Lan- 
ing  and  Sam  married  Grace. 

When  first  married,  Dick  and  his  beautiful  wife 
Dora  had  begun  housekeeping  in  a  small  apart 
ment,  but  a  few  years  later  the  three  brothers  had 
purchased  a  plot  of  ground  on  Riverside  Drive, 
overlooking  the  Hudson  river,  and  there  they  had 
built  three  handsome  houses,  Dick  living  in  the 
middle  house,  and  Tom  on  one  side  and  Sam  on 
the  other. 

Before  the  young  people  had  moved  into  the 
new  homes,  Dick  and  Dora  became  the  proud  par 
ents  of  a  little  son,  who  was  named  John,  after 
Mr.  Laning.  The  son  was  followed  by  a  daugh 
ter,  Martha,  so  named  after  her  Great  Aunt 
Martha  of  Valley  Brook  Farm,  where  the  older 
boys  had  spent  many  of  their  youthful  days. 
Little  Jack,  as  he  was  called,  was  a  bright  lad 
with  many  of  the  qualities  which  had  made  his 
father  so  well  liked  and  so  successful  in  life. 

About  the  time  Jack's  sister  Martha  was  born, 
Tom  and  Nellie  Rover  came  forward  with  twin 
boys,  one  of  whom  they  named  Anderson,  after 
his  grandfather,  and  the  other  Randolph,  after 
Uncle  Randolph,  of  Valley  Brook  Farm.  Andy 
and  Randy,  as  they  were  always  called  for  short, 
were  exceedingly  clever  and  active  lads,  in  this 


16    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

particular  being  a  second  edition  of  their  father. 
Andy  was  usually  saying  things  that  were  more 
or  less  funny,  and  Randy  thought  that  playing 
some  trick  was  the  finest  thing  in  the  world. 

"You  can't  find  fault  with  those  kids,  Tom," 
Dick  Rover  said  more  than  once.  "They  are  chips 
of  the  old  block." 

"Well,  I  suppose  they  are,"  Tom  Rover  would 
reply,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye.  "But  if  they 
never  do  anything  that  is  really  mean  or  harmful, 
I  won't  care." 

About  the  same  time  the  twins  were  born,  Sam 
and  Grace  Rover  came  along  with  a  beautiful 
little  girl,  whom  they  named  Mary,  after  Mrs. 
Laning.  Then,  a  year  later,  the  girl  was  fol 
lowed  by  a  sturdy  little  boy,  who  was  christened 
Fred,  after  Sam  Rover's  old  school  chum,  Fred 
Garrison. 

Living  so  close  together — the  three  stone  man 
sions  on  Riverside  Drive  were  connected — the 
younger  generation  of  Rover  boys,  as  well  as  the 
girls,  were  brought  up  very  much  like  one  big 
family.  The  winters  were  spent  in  New  York 
City,  while  during  the  summer  the  young  folks 
were  generally  bundled  off  to  Valley  Brook  Farm, 
where  their  grandfather,  Anderson  Rover,  still 
resided  with  his  brother  Randolph  and  wife 
Martha. 


17 

At  first  both  the  girls  and  the  boys  had  been 
sent  to  private  schools  in  the  metropolis.  But 
the  boys  showed  such  a  propensity  for  "cutting 
up,"  as  Dick  Rover  expressed  it,  that  the  fathers 
•were  compelled  to  hold  a  consultation. 

"The  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  send  them  to 
some  strict  boarding  school,"  was  Dick  Rover's 
comment,  and  in  this  the  brothers  agreed. 

Some  time  before,  their  old  school  chum,  Law 
rence  Colby,  who  had  since  become  a  colonel  in 
the  state  militia,  had  opened  a  military  academy, 
which  he  called  Colby  Hall.  The  place  was  gain 
ing  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  first-class  institu 
tion  of  learning,  being  modeled  after  Putnam 
Hall,  which,  in  its  day,  had  been  run  somewhat  on 
the  lines  of  West  Point. 

"We'll  send  them  to  Colby  Hall,"  had  been  the 
decision  of  the  older  Rovers,  and  to  that  place 
Jack,  Andy  and  Randy,  and  Fred  had  gone,  as 
related  in  detail  in  the  volume  entitled  "The 
Rover  Boys  at  Colby  Hall." 

The  military  school  presided  over  by  Colonel 
Colby  was  located  about  half  a  mile  from  the 
town  of  Haven  Point,  on  Clearwater  Lake,  a 
beautiful  sheet  of  water  about  two  miles  long  and 
half  a  mile  wide.  At  the  head  of  the  lake  was 
the  Rick  Rack  River,  running  down  from  the 
hills  and  woods  beyond.  The  school  consisted  of 


18    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

a  large  stone  building  shaped  somewhat  in  the 
form  of  a  cross,  the  upper  portion  facing  the 
river.  It  was  three  stories  in  height,  and  con 
tained,  not  only  the  classrooms  and  the  mess  hall, 
but  also  the  dormitories  and  private  rooms  for  the 
scholars.  To  one  side  was  a  brick  building,  which 
at  one  time  had  been  a  private  dwelling,  but  which 
was  now  occupied  by  Colonel  Colby  and  his  fam 
ily  and  some  of  the  professors.  On  the  opposite 
side  was  a  new  and  up-to-date  gymnasium.  Down 
at  the  water's  edge  were  a  number  of  small  build 
ings  used  as  boathouses  and  bathhouses.  Behind 
the  Hall  were  a  stable  and  a  barn,  and  also  a 
garage ;  and  still  further  back  there  were  a  large 
vegetable  garden  and  numerous  farm  fields. 

On  their  arrival  at  Colby  Hall,  the  Rover  boys 
had  found  several  of  their  friends  awaiting  them. 
One  of  these  was  Dick  Powell,  the  son  of  Song 
bird  Powell,  a  former  schoolmate  of  their  fathers, 
a  fellow  who  was  usually  called  Spouter  because 
of  his  fondness  for  making  speeches.  Another 
lad  was  Gifford  Garrison,  usually  called  Gif  for 
short,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  school  athletics. 
Gif  was  the  son  of  Fred  Garrison,  after  whom 
Fred  Rover  had  been  named. 

They  also  made  friends  of  a  number  of  others, 
some  of  whom  we  have  already  met.  These  in 
cluded  Walter  Baxter,  the  son  of  Dan  Baxter, 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE  ROVER  BOYS  19 

;who  in  years  gone  by  had  been  an  enemy  to  the 
older  Rovers,  but  who  had  long  since  reformed. 

Before  coming  to  Colby  Hall  Jack  Rover  had 
had  a  quarrel  in  New  York  with  a  tall,  dudish 
youth  named  Napoleon  Martell,  and  this  had 
almost  led  to  a  fight  Nappy  Martell,  as  he  was 
usually  called  by  his  cronies,  was  a  pupil  at  the 
military  academy,  and  soon  he  and  his  crony,  a 
big,  overgrown  bully,  named  Slogwell  Brown, 
did  what  they  could  to  make  life  miserable  for 
all  of  the  Rovers.  But  in  one  of  their  dirty 
tricks  they  over-reached  themselves,  and  as  a  con 
sequence  they  had  been  exposed  and  sent  away 
from  the  institution  of  learning  for  the  time 
being. 

"But  they  are  coming  back,"  Walt  Baxter  had 
told  the  Rover  boys ;  "and  they  say  when  they  do, 
they  will  make  it  hot  for  you." 

"Well,  when  Slugger  and  Nappy  return  we  will 
be  ready  for  them,"  had  been  Jack  Rover's  reply. 

"And  the  next  time  we  won't  be  as  easy  on 
them  as  we  were  before,"  Fred  had  added. 

All  of  the  cadets  formed  a  battalion  of  several 
companies,  commanded  by  one  of  the  older  cadets, 
Major  Ralph  Mason.  The  Rovers  took  to  the 
military  drill  and  general  exercises  readily,  and 
soon  learned  how  to  march  and  how  to  handle  a 
gun.  They  enjoyed  drilling  very  much — in  fact. 


20    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

they  enjoyed  it  more  than  they  did  studying,  al 
though  all  of  them  were  good  scholars. 

As  has  been  stated,  Colby  Hall  was  located 
about  half  a  mile  out  of  Haven  Point.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  town  was  located  Clearwater 
Hall,  a  boarding  school  for  girls.  During  a  panic 
in  a  moving  picture  theater  in  the  town,  Jack  and 
his  cousins  had  become  acquainted  with  a  number 
of  these  girls,  including  Ruth  Stevenson  and  May 
Powell.  After  that  the  four  boys  had  taken  four 
of  the  girls  rowing  on  the  lake  and  on  other 
outings,  and  through  this  had  become  quite  well 
acquainted  with  a  number  of  the  Clearwater  Hall 
pupils.  Jack  was  particularly  interested  in  Ruth 
Stevenson,  and  thought  her  a  very  beautiful  and 
entertaining  young  lady.  The  others  did  not  seem 
to  have  any  particular  preference,  although  Fred 
was  often  seen  to  side  up  to  May  Powell,  the 
entertaining  cousin  of  Spouter. 

And  now,  having  introduced  these  young 
ladies  in  a  proper  manner,  let  us  return  to  them 
at  the  time  when  they  were  struggling  on  the  ice 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  frightened  crowd  rush 
ing  hither  and  thither,  striving  to  save  itself  from 
being  immersed  in  the  icy  waters  of  the  lake. 

"Oh!  oh!  What  shall  we  do?"  cried  May  in 
terror,  as  she  clung  to  her  companion's  arm. 

"Come  on!     We'll  have  to  skate  away  from 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE  ROVER  BOYS  21 

here!"  burst  out  Ruth.  "Come!  let  us  see  if  we 
can't  get  to  shore,"  and  she  started  off,  her  com 
panion  still  clinging  to  her. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Jack  and  Randy  were  skat 
ing  as  fast  as  possible  in  the  direction  where  they 
had  seen  the  two  girls.  But  now  a  crowd  of 
cadets  and  town  folks  swept  in  front  of  them, 
and  the  next  instant  Randy  was  hurled  flat  on  his 
back  and  went  spinning  across  the  smooth  ice. 

By  this  time  one  of  the  spots  on  the  lake  had 
broken  through,  and  the  water  was  rapidly  rising 
all  around  it  and  covering  the  sinking  surface. 
Men,  women  and  children  mingled  with  the  cadets 
and  hurried  in  all  directions,  but  most  of  them 
toward  the  shore. 

"Come  on !  We've  got  to  help  those  girls  some 
how!"  panted  Jack,  as  he  skated  over  to  where 
Randy  had  been  flung.  He  assisted  his  cousin  to 
his  feet  just  as  Fred  and  Andy  flashed  up. 

"The  girls!  Don't  you  see  them  over  there? 
They  are  going  down !"  yelled  Fred. 

"Yes,  I  see  them !    Come  on !"  answered  Jack. 

As  tired  as  he  was  because  of  the  race,  the 
oldest  Rover  struck  out  with  all  the  vigor  he 
could  muster.  Soon  he  found  himself  slishing 
through  water  that  was  several  inches  deep.  The 
next  moment  he  stood  beside  the  two  girls,  who 
had  become  almost  too  frightened  to  move. 


22    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Come  on!  Don't  stand  here!"  he  called, 
catching  Ruth  by  the  arm. 

He  looked  back  and  saw  that  Fred  and  the 
others  were  close  behind  him,  and  that  Fred  al 
ready  had  hold  of  May.  Then  he  started  off  tip 
the  lake. 

"Oh,  Jack,  hadn't  we  better  head  for  the 
shore?"  gasped  the  frightened  girl. 

"No.  There  is  too  much  of  a  crowd  in  that 
direction  already,"  he  answered  quickly.  "If  they 
don't  look  out  they'll  all  go  in.  Come  on !  The 
best  thing  to  do  is  to  get  out  where  there  isn't 
anybody." 

He  skated  on,  allowing  the  girl  to  rest  on  his 
arm  as  he  did  so.  Soon  they  seemed  to  be  out  of 
the  danger  zone,  and  then  he  looked  back. 

The  sight  that  met  his  gaze  filled  him  with  new 
alarm.  Fred  had  been  skating  with  May  close 
beside  him,  but  their  feet  had  caught  in  one  of 
the  new  cracks,  and  both  of  them  had  gone  down 
headlong.  Andy  and  Randy  had  been  close  be 
hind,  and  now  they  too  went  sprawling,  while  the 
ice  cracked  ominously,  as  if  ready  to  let  them 
down  into  the  water  at  any  instant ! 


CHAPTER  III 

OUT   OF   PERIL 

"On  look!  May  and  Fred  have  both  gone 
down!"  cried  Ruth. 

"Yes,  and  there  go  Andy  and  Randy  over 
them!"  exclaimed  Jack. 

"And  look,  Jack,  the  ice  is  cracking  every 
where!"  continued  the  frightened  girl.  She 
clutched  his  arm  and  looked  appealingly  into  his 
face.  "Oh !  what  shall  we  do  ?" 

"Spread  out,  you  fellows !  Spread  out !"  yelled 
the  oldest  Rover  boy.  "Spread  out !  Don't  keep 
together!" 

His  cry  was  heard,  and  an  instant  later  Andy 
commenced  to  roll  over  on  the  ice  in  one  direc 
tion  while  his  twin  rolled  in  another.  In  the 
meantime,  Fred  had  managed  to  scramble  to  his 
feet,  and  now  he  pulled  up  May. 

"Come  on,  we'll  soon  be  out  of  danger,"  en 
couraged  the  youngest  Rover;  and,  striking  out, 
he  pulled  May  behind  him,  the  girl  being  too 
excited  to  skate. 

23 


24    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

In  less  than  a  minute  the  danger,  so  far  as  it 
concerned  the  Rovers  and  the  two  girls  from 
Clearwater  Hall,  was  past.  All  reached  a  point 
•where  the  ice  was  perfectly  firm.  Here  Ruth 
speedily  gained  her  self-possession,  but  May  con 
tinued  to  cling  closely  to  Fred's  arm. 

"I'm  going  to  see  how  they  are  making  out  in 
front  of  the  boathouse !"  cried  Randy.  "Some  of 
the  skaters  must  have  gotten  in." 

"I'm  with  you,"  returned  his  twin.  He  looked 
"back  at  his  cousins.  "I  suppose  you  will  look 
after  the  girls?" 

"Sure!"  answered  Jack  quickly.     "Go  ahead/' 

"I  don't  suppose  we  can  be  of  any  assistance 
down  there  ?"  came  from  Fred. 

"I  don't  think  so,  Fred.  There  is  too  much 
of  a  crowd  as  it  is;  they  will  simply  be  in  one 
another's  way." 

"Oh!  oh!  suppose  some  one  should  be 
drowned !"  moaned  May. 

"Let  us  hope  for  the  best,"  answered  Jack.  He 
did  not  want  to  add  to  the  girls'  fright,  yet  he 
was  decidedly  anxious  over  the  outcome  of  the 
unexpected  catastrophe. 

They  skated  toward  the  shore  at  a  point  be 
tween  Colby  Hall  and  the  town,  and  then  they 
worked  their  way  along  shore  up  to  the  vicinity 
of  the  military  academy.  Here  men  and  cadets 


OUT  OF  PERIL  25 

were  rushing  hither  and  thither,  some  with 
planks  and  others  with  ropes. 

"Six  of  the  cadets  broke  through,"  announced 
Spouter  Powell,  as  he  came  up  to  learn  if  his 
cousin  was  safe. 

"They  are  all  out,  aren't  they?"  questioned 
Jack  quickly. 

"Yes.  But  there  may  have  been  others  that 
went  under  the  ice.  Professor  Brice  and  Mr. 
Crews  are  going  to  make  a  thorough  search." 
Crews  was  the  gymnastic  instructor. 

The  excitement  continued  for  fully  half  an 
hour.  By  that  ti*me  it  was  ascertained  that  every 
one  had  gotten  off  of  the  ice  or  out  of  the  water 
in  safety.  Those  who  had  gone  down  were 
rushed  to  shelter,  so  that  they  might  not  catch 
cold.  Gradually  the  crowd  dispersed,  and  then 
Professor  Brice  had  danger  signs  placed  at  vari 
ous  points  on  the  ice,  so  that  there  should  not  be  a 
repetition  of  the  accident. 

"The  thing  would  not  have  occurred  had  not 
the  entire  crowd  happened  to  congregate  around 
the  winners  of  the  skating  race,"  explained  Pro 
fessor  Brice  to  Colonel  Colby. 

"You  think  the  ice  is  thick  enough  for  any 
ordinary  crowd?"  questioned  the  master  of  the 
school  anxiously. 

"Yes,  sir.    You  can  test  it  for  yourself." 


26    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"Well,  we  must  be  more  careful  in  the  future, 
Mr.  Brice.  We  don't  want  any  of  our  cadets 
drowned." 

"We  won't  have  any  such  crowd  again  if  I  can 
avoid  it,"  was  the  reply. 

"It's  all  nonsense  to  have  such  races  anyway. 
It  encourages  too  much  rowdyism,"  was  the  com 
ment  of  Asa  Lemm,  one  of  the  language  profes 
sors.  Lemm  was  the  least  liked  of  all  the  teachers 
at  the  Hall.  He  did  not  believe  in  a  boy's  having 
any  fun,  but  expected  the  cadets  to  spend  their 
entire  time  in  studying.  He  had  once  been  fairly 
wealthy,  and  the  loss  of  his  money  had  made  him 
sour-minded  and  disagreeable. 

"I  cannot  agree  with  that  opinion,"  returned 
Colonel  Colby  coldly.  "The  boys  must  have 
some  exercise.  And  to  be  out  in  the  fresh  air  is 
a  very  good  thing  for  them.  They  will  study  so 
much  the  better  for  it." 

"Maybe ;  but  I  doubt  it,"  answered  Asa  Lemm 
shortly.  "You  let  a  boy  go  out  and  carouse 
around,  and  the  first  thing  you  know  he  won't 
care  for  anything  else,"  and  he  strode  away  with 
his  chin  held  high  in  the  air  and  his  lips  tightly 
compressed.  He  was  a  man  of  very  positive 
ideas,  which  he  tried  at  every  opportunity  to 
impress  upon  others. 

"Aren't  your  feet  wet?"  questioned  Jack  sud- 


OUT  OF  PERIL  27 

denly,  as  he  looked  down  at  the  skating  shoes 
worn  by  Ruth  and  May. 

"Well,  they  are  rather  damp,"  answered  Ruth. 

"Mine  are  both  wet  and  cold,"  said  May.  "I 
shouldn't  mind  it  if  I  could  dry  them  off  and 
warm  them  somewhere." 

"Come  on  up  to  the  Hall,"  went  on  Jack.  "I'm 
sure  they  will  let  you  dry  them  in  front  of  the 
open  fire  in  the  big  living-room." 

"Oh,  Jack,  we  don't  want  to  go  there  in  such  a 
crowd  of  cadets !" 

"Don't  worry  about  the  cadets,"  put  in  Fred, 

When  they  arrived  at  the  living-room  of  the 
military  academy,  they  found  it  practically  de 
serted,  the  great  majority  of  the  cadets  being  at 
the  lake  front  or  in  the  big  boathouse,  where  a 
pot  stove  was  kept  going  for  the  benefit  of  the 
skaters. 

"My,  but  this  is  a  cozy  place !"  remarked  Ruth, 
after  she  had  become  comfortably  settled  in  a  big 
armchair  with  her  feet  resting  close  to  the  blaze. 

"I  wish  I  was  a  cadet  here,"  sighed  May.  "It's 
more  fun  being  a  boy  than  being  a  girl" 

"How  do  you  know  ?  You  never  were  a  boy," 
returned  Fred,  with  a  grin. 

"I  know,  just  the  same,"  May  answered.  "I'm 
sure  you  boys  have  a  much  better  time  of  it  than 
we  girls." 


28    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

This  started  quite  an  argument,  in  which  all 
of  the  young  people,  including  Spouter,  joined. 
In  the  midst  of  the  talk  Andy  and  Randy  came 
in,  having  been  told  where  the  others  had  gone. 

"It's  all  over  and  everybody  is  safe,"  an 
nounced  Randy. 

"And  the  only  thing  lost,  so  far  as  we  can  find 
out,  was  Fatty's  skating  cap,"  put  in  Andy. 

"Well,  if  that's  all,  we  can  chip  in  and  buy 
him  another  cap,"  remarked  Jack,  and  at  this 
there  was  a  short  laugh.  Now  that  the  peril  was 
a  thing  of  the  past  all  felt  greatly  relieved,  and 
their  manner  showed  it. 

Jack  and  Fred  had  the  pleasure  of  skating  all 
the  way  to  Clearwater  Hall  with  Ruth  and  May. 
During  that  time  the  young  folks  grew  quite 
confidential. 

"Why  don't  you  get  your  sister  Martha  to 
come  to  Clearwater  Hall?"  said  Ruth  to  Jack. 
"I'm  sure  I'd  like  very  much  to  meet  her." 

"Yes,  and  why  not  have  your  sister  Mary  come 
too  ?"  added  May  to  Fred. 

"Say,  that's  a  great  idea!"  burst  out  Jack. 

"Let's  put  it  up  to  the  folks  at  home  without 
delay,"  added  his  cousin.  "But  they  might  not 
like  to  leave  the  private  school  they  are  now 
attending,"  he  continued,  his  face  falling. 

"That's  true,  for  they  are  getting  along  very 


OUT  OF  PERIL  29 

nicely,"  said  Jack  "Just  the  same,  we  can  put 
it  up  to  the  folks  at  home  and  let  them  know  all 
about  what  a  nice  place  Clearwater  Hall  is — and 
what  awfully  nice  girls  there  are  here."  And  at 
this  latter  remark  Ruth  and  May  blushed. 

"I  sent  a  letter  to  Mary  a  year  or  two  ago," 
said  May;  "but  at  that  time  I  wasn't  here.  I 
think  I'll  send  her  another  letter." 

"Do,  by  all  means,"  returned  Fred  quickly. 
"And  let  her  know  all  about  how  nice  a  place  it 
is.  That  may  help." 

"It  would  be  a  fine  thing  if  they  were  at  this 
school — it  would  give  us  more  chances  to  call 
here,"  remarked  Jack  to  Ruth. 

"Last  week  I  met  Cousin  Dick  in  town,"  said 
May,  "and  he  was  telling  me  how  that  Slugger 
Brown  and  Nappy  Martell  had  left  the  Hall.  He 
said  the  pair  were  terribly  down  on  all  you 
Rovers." 

"Yes,  they  were  very  much  enraged  over  the 
way  we  exposed  them,"  answered  Fred. 

"They  deserved  to  be  exposed!"  cried  Ruth. 
"The  idea  of  their  shooting  two  of  Mr.  Lacy's 
valuable  cows  and  then  trying  to  prove  that  you 
did  it !  It  was  shameful !" 

"Well,  their  folks  had  to  pay  Lacy  for  the 
cows,"  answered  Jack. 

"And  then  to  think  how  they  tampered  with 


30    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

the  chains  on  that  lumber  raft  so  that  the  raft 
went  to  pieces  in  that  storm  on  the  lake !"  added 
May.  "Oh,  I  think  they  must  be  very  wicked 
boys!" 

"They  are  certainly  no  angels." 

"Jack,  if  they  should  come  back  to  Colby  Hall, 
won't  you  be  afraid  that  they  will  try  to  do  some 
thing  more  to  get  you  into  trouble  ?" 

"More  than  likely  they  will ;  but  I  am  not  afraid 
of  them." 

"We  intend  to  keep  our  eyes  wide  open,  and  if 
Slugger  or  Nappy  try  any  funny  work,  we'll  jump 
on  'em  like  a  ton  of  bricks,"  added  Fred. 

Then  the  subject  was  changed,  and  a  few  min 
utes  later  the  cadets  bid  the  girls  good-bye,  prom 
ising  to  see  them  again  if  possible  in  the  near  fu 
ture. 

"I'll  tell  you  what,  Jack,  they  are  a  pair  of 
mighty  fine  girls,"  was  Fred's  comment,  as  he  and 
his  cousin  skated  back  in  the  direction  of  the  mil 
itary  academy. 

"I  agree  with  you,  Fred." 

"I  wish  we  could  persuade  Martha  and  Mary 
to  go  to  Clearwater  Hall,"  went  on  the  youngest 
Rover  boy,  wistfully.  "I'd  like  first  rate  to  have 
'em  get  better  acquainted  with  May  and  get  ac 
quainted  with  the  other  girls  there." 

"We'll  have  to  be  careful  how  we  write  home 


OUT  OF  PERIL  31 

about  it,"  cautioned  his  cousin.  "If  we  aren't, 
they'll  think  we  want  them  to  come  just  on  ac 
count  of  Ruth  and  May,  and  then  they'll  tease  the 
life  out  of  us." 

"Oh,  sure,  we'll  be  careful!  Just  the  same,  it 
would  be  a  fine  boarding  school  for  them.  I  don't 
think  much  of  that  fashionable  private  school 
where  they  are  now  going.  Most  of  the  girls 
there  think  more  of  how  they  are  dressed  and 
what  dances  they  are  learning  than  anything 
else." 

"By  the  way,  do  you  think  Spouter  knows  more 
about  what  Slugger  and  Nappy  intend  to  do  than 
he  told?" 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

"Why,  perhaps  he  heard  something,  but  didn't 
want  to  tell  all  of  it  for  fear  of  alarming  us." 

"I  don't  think  Spouter  would  do  that.  He 
knows  well  enough  that  we  aren't  afraid  of  that 
pair." 

"Just  the  same,  Fred,  if  they  do  come  back 
we'll  have  to  keep  our  eyes  wide  open,  for  they 
surely  will  do  their  best  to  put  one  over  on  us, 
and  any  fellows  who  would  be  mean  enough  to 
do  what  they  have  done,  wouldn't  hesitate  to  do 
worse." 

"I  can't  understand  why  Colonel  Colby  is  go 
ing  to  let  them  come  back  at  all." 


32    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"Oh,  I  suppose  he  feels  that  he  ought  to  give 
them  at  least  one  more  chance.  He  probably  re 
members  how  Dan  Baxter  acted  toward  our  fath 
ers  and  the  colonel  himself,  as  well  as  their  chums, 
and  how  Baxter  afterwards  reformed." 

"Yes,  that  may  be  true.  But  when  one  fellow 
like  Walt  Baxter's  father  reforms,  a  dozen  others 
remain  as  bad  as  ever,  or  grow  worse.  To  my 
mind,  there  isn't  much  in  the  way  of  reform  in 
Slugger  Brown's  make-up,  or  in  Nappy  Martell 
either." 

"Oh,  I  agree  with  you  there.  Slugger  Brown 
is  nothing  short  of  a  brute,  and  Nappy  Martell  is 
as  sly  and  vicious  as  any  fellow  I  ever  ran  up 
against.  We'll  certainly  have  to  watch  them 
when  they  get  back  here." 


CHAPTER  IV 

OUT    HUNTING 

AFTER  the  excitement  attending  the  skating 
races,  matters  moved  along  quietly  at  Colby  Hall 
for  several  days.  The  Rover  boys,  as  was  their 
custom,  paid  close  attention  to  their  studies. 

"We've  got  to  make  a  record  for  ourselves," 
was  the  way  Jack  put  it.  "If  we  don't,  our  folks 
may  take  it  in  their  heads  to  send  us  to  some  other 
boarding  school,  thinking  Colonel  Colby  is  too 
easy  with  us." 

"And  to  take  Jack  away  from  this  vicinity 

when  he  is  getting  so  sweet  on  Ruth  Steven " 

began  Randy,  when  he  was  cut  short  by  a  book 
flung  by  his  cousin,  landing  on  his  shoulder. 

"You  cut  out  that  talk,  Randy!"  cried  Jack. 

"Let's  talk  about  the  weather,"  murmured 
Andy,  who  had  passed  to  the  window.  "Say,  fel 
lows,  do  you  know,  I  think  it's  going  to  snow !" 

"Hurrah!  That  means  some  fun  snowball 
ing!"  cried  Fred. 

The  snow  came  down  all  that  night,  and  in  the 
33 


34    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

morning  covered  the  ground  to  the  depth  of  sev 
eral  inches.  A  great  many  of  the  cadets  rushed 
out  in  glee,  and  half  a  dozen  impromptu  snow 
balling  matches  were  soon  in  progress. 

It  was  almost  time  to  go  in  for  the  morning 
session  when  several  of  the  cadets  noticed  a  fig 
ure,  huddled  up  in  a  slouch  hat  and  a  heavy  over 
coat,  coming  up  from  behind  the  Hall  toward  a 
side  door. 

"Here  comes  Bob  Nixon!"  yelled  one  of  the 
cadets,  mentioning  the  name  of  Colonel  Colby's 
chauffeur.  "Let's  give  him  a  volley." 

"Right  you  are!"  exclaimed  Andy  gleefully. 

"Stop!  Can't  you  see "  commenced  Jack, 

but  before  he  could  finish  his  sentence  both  Andy 
and  Randy  had  let  drive  at  the  advancing  figure. 
One  snowball  took  the  man  in  the  shoulder  and 
the  other  landed  just  below  his  left  ear. 

"Here!  here!  what  do  you  mean  by  such  pro 
ceedings?"  cried  the  attacked  individual  in  great 
wrath,  and  then,  as  he  held  up  his  head  and 
pushed  back  his  slouch  hat,  all  saw  that  it  was 
Asa  Lemm. 

"Great  watermelons!"  groaned  Andy.  "I 
thought  sure  it  was  Nixon !" 

"I  knew  it  wasn't,  and  that's  why  I  tried  to 
stop  you,"  said  Jack. 

"Say,  he's  some  mad,"  whispered  Randy,  as 


OUT  HUNTING  35 

the  language  teacher  strode  toward  them.  "I  won 
der  what  he'll  do." 

"How  dare  you  boys  attack  me?"  roared  Asa 
Lemm,  as  he  shook  his  fist  at  the  crowd.  "How 
dare  you  do  it  ?" 

"It  was  all  a  mistake,  Mr.  Lemm,"  said  Randy 
meekly. 

"We  didn't  know  it  was  you — really  we 
didn't,"  came  from  Andy.  "We  thought  it  was 
Bob  Nixon.  He  likes  to  snowball  with  us." 

"I  do  not  believe  a  word  of  it !"  cried  the  irate 
instructor.  "How  many  of  you  threw  at  me?" 
he  questioned,  glaring  at  the  crowd. 

To  this  there  was  no  immediate  answer,  and 
then  Randy  stepped  forward. 

"I  did,  for  one,"  he  said. 

"And  so  did  I,"  came  from  his  twin. 

"Anybody  else?" 

"No.  We  were  the  only  ones,  Professor,"  an 
swered  Randy.  "And  I  hope  you  will  overlook 
it  this  time,"  he  continued.  "We  did  not  know 
it  was  you." 

"Both  of  you  report  to  me  after  school  this 
afternoon,"  said  the  instructor  harshly ;  and  then 
without  another  word  he  turned  and  tramped  off 
into  the  Hall. 

"Now  we  are  in  for  it,  Andy/'  was  Randy's 
dismal  comment 


36    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Oh,  well,  he  can't  do  any  more  than  kill  us," 
was  the  light-hearted  reply  of  the  other. 

"Do  you  want  to  be  killed,  Andy?"  quizzed 
Jack. 

"I  know  what  he'll  do,"  was  Randy's  comment. 
"He'll  keep  us  both  in  and  give  us  extra  lessons 
to  learn."  And  in  this  surmise  the  fun-loving 
Rover  boy  was  correct.  For  their  rashness  in 
snowballing  the  teacher  they  were  made  to  stay 
in  after  school  for  two  afternoons,  and  in  addi 
tion  had  two  extra  pages  of  Latin  to  translate. 

"He's  a  lemon,  if  ever  there  was  one,"  was 
what  Andy  said  after  his  punishment  had  come 
to  an  end.  "Oh,  wouldn't  I  just  like  to  get  square 
with  him !" 

"We'll  have  to  think  something  up,  Andy," 
answered  his  twin. 

Following  the  first  fall  of  snow,  came  an 
other,  but  then  the  sun  came  out  brightly,  pack 
ing  down  the  snow  so  that  sleighing  became  quite 
popular. 

"If  we  only  had  a  big  sleigh  up  here,  we  could 
go  and  get  the  girls  from  Clearwater  Hall  and 
give  them  a  ride,"  said  Fred  one  day  to  Jack. 

"I  was  thinking  we  might  hire  a  big  sleigh  in 
town  some  Saturday  afternoon  and  do  just  that," 
answered  his  cousin.  'Til  look  into  it  the  first 
chance  I  get." 


OUT  HUNTING  37 

Fred  and  Jack  had  not  forgotten  the  sport  they 
had  had  earlier  in  the  season,  when  they  had 
gone  out  with  Frank  Newberry  and  some  oth 
ers  on  a  hunt  for  rabbits  and  other  small  game. 

"The  hunting  season  is  still  open,  Fred,"  said 
Jack  one  day.  "What  do  you  say  if  we  ask 
Colonel  Colby  for  permission  to  go  out." 

"Suits  me,"  answered  his  cousin  quickly. 

"Do  you  think  Andy  and  Randy  would  like  to 
go,  too?" 

"More  than  likely.  They  have  been  wanting  to 
go  ever  since  we  brought  down  that  game." 

When  the  subject  was  mentioned  to  the  twins, 
they  quickly  agreed  that  it  would  be  a  fine  thing 
if  they  could  all  obtain  permission  to  go  on  a 
hunting  trip  the  coming  Saturday.  Colonel  Colby 
was  appealed  to  without  delay. 

"Well,  boys,  I  have  no  objection  to  your  going 
out,"  he  said.  "I  know  you  all  understand  the 
use  of  firearms,  and  I  know,  also,  that  your  fa 
thers  loved  to  go  out  in  their  day  and  hunt.  And 
I  did  a  little  bit  in  that  line  myself,"  and  he  smiled 
faintly.  "But  I  want  you  to  be  very  careful  in 
what  you  shoot  at ;  and  do  your  level  best  to  keep 
out  of  trouble  of  all  kinds,"  and  he  looked  at 
Jack  and  Fred  as  he  uttered  the  latter  words. 

"Getting  into  trouble  before,  Colonel  Colby, 
wasn't  our  fault,"  answered  Jack  quickly. 


38    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"I  know  that." 

"By  the  way,  Colonel  Colby,  if  it  isn't  asking 
too  much,  would  you  mind  letting  us  know  if 
Slugger  Brown  and  Nappy  Martell  are  really 
going  to  return  here  ?"  questioned  Fred. 

"They  have  asked  for  permission  to  come  back 
— at  least,  their  parents  have  asked  for  them — 
and  I  have  the  matter  under  consideration,"  an 
swered  the  master  of  the  Hall.  He  gazed  ques- 
tioningly  at  the  Rovers.  "I  meant  to  mention 
this  subject  to  you,  and  I  am  glad  you  have 
brought  it  up.  In  one  way,  I  don't  feel  like  hav 
ing  them  here;  but  in  another  way  I  should  like 
to  give  them  another  chance  in  case  they  feel  like 
turning  over  a  new  leaf  and  making  a  fresh  start. 
What  do  you  boys  think  of  it?" 

For  a  moment  all  of  the  Rover  boys  were  si 
lent,  looking  at  each  other  questioningly.  Then 
the  others  showed  that  they  expected  Jack  to 
speak. 

"Well,  if  you  want  my  candid  opinion,  it's  just 
this,  Colonel  Colby,"  said  the  oldest  Rover  boy 
earnestly.  "Personally  I  would  much  prefer  to 
have  Brown  and  Martell  stay  away  from  Colby 
Hall.  But  if  you  think  they  ought  to  be  given 
another  chance  to  make  good  here,  why,  I  am 
sure  I'm  not  going  to  stand  in  their  way.  Just 
the  same,  if  they  do  come  here,  I'm  going  to 


OUT  HUNTING  39 

watch  them  pretty  closely  so  that  they  won't  be 
able  to  play  any  more  of  their  dirty  tricks." 

"I  shall  not  blame  you  for  watching  them, 
Rover.  After  what  happened  to  you  and  your 
Cousin  Fred,  it  is  no  more  than  right  that  you 
should  be  on  your  guard.  Yet,  I  trust  that  you 
will  give  Brown  and  Martell  a  chance  to  prove 
themselves,  provided  they  really  do  want  to  turn 
over  a  new  leaf  and  make  amends  for  what  has 
happened." 

"Oh,  we'll  give  them  plenty  of  chances  to  make 
good  if  it  is  in  them;  won't  we?"  and  Jack  turned 
to  his  cousins. 

"Sure !"  came  in  a  chorus. 

"Then  that  is  settled,  and  I  am  glad  of  it. 
Now  you  have  my  permission  to  go  on  your 
hunting  trip,  and  I  trust  you  will  bring  down  all 
the  small  game  you  desire.  But,  as  I  said  before, 
be  very  careful.  So  far,  I  have  allowed  all  of 
my  pupils  to  go  out  hunting  whenever  they  have 
so  desired,  and  without  any  accidents  happening. 
I  don't  want  to  break  that  record."  And  with 
these  words  the  master  of  the  Hall  dismissed 
them. 

This  conversation  took  place  on  Thursday  even 
ing,  and  all  day  Friday  the  boys  were  anxiously 
looking  forward  to  the  proposed  outing  and  won 
dering  what  the  weather  would  prove  to  be. 


40    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

They  obtained  permission  to  take  two  small  rifles 
and  two  double-barreled  shotguns  belonging  to 
the  institution,  and  these  they  cleaned  and  oiled 
so  that  they  would  be  in  prime  condition. 

Saturday  morning  dawned  bright  and  clear,  and 
the  four  Rovers  obtained  their  breakfast  as  early 
as  the  rules  of  the  school  permitted.  Then,  with 
game  bags  and  guns  slung  over  their  shoulders, 
they  set  out  on  their  skates  up  the  lake  shore  and 
then  along  the  Rick  Rack  River,  the  wind  of  the 
day  previous  having  cleared  large  portions  of  the 
ice  of  snow. 

"Come  on,  let's  have  a  race !"  cried  Andy  glee 
fully.  Had  he  not  been  on  his  skates  he  would 
have  attempted  a  handspring  in  the  exuberance 
of  his  spirits. 

"No  racing  to-day !"  warned  Jack.  "You  save 
your  breath,  Andy.  We  expect  to  skate  and 
tramp  a  good  many  miles  to-day  before  we  get 
back  to  the  school." 

"All  right,  just  as  you  say,"  answered  his 
cousin,  and  then  he  began  some  horseplay  with 
Fred,  which  came  to  a  sudden  end  when  the 
youngest  Rover  tripped  him  up  and  sent  him 
plunging  into  a  snowbank  on  the  side  of  the  nar 
row  stream. 

"Now  let  up,  I  tell  you !"  warned  Jack.  "You 
never  want  to  try  any  horseplay  when  you  are 


OUT  HUNTING  4! 

tramping  or  skating  along  with  a  loaded  gun. 
It's  too  dangerous.  Remember  what  Colonel 
Colby  said,"  and  then  Andy  sobered  down  a  little. 

All  too  soon  for  the  boys,  the  skating  on  the 
river  came  to  an  end.  Beyond,  the  stream  was 
little  better  than  a  rocky  watercourse,  now  thickly 
covered  with  ice  and  snow. 

"Why  can't  we  leave  our  skates  here  until  we 
come  back?"  suggested  Randy. 

"We  could  if  we  were  sure  we  were  going  to 
return  this  way,"  answered  Jack.  "But  we  had 
better  take  them  along,  for  we  may  return  to  the 
Hall  by  an  entirely  different  route.  We'll  place 
our  skates  in  our  game  bags  for  the  present;" 
and  this  advice  was  followed. 

After  this  the  Rover  boys  trudged  along 
through  the  woods  bordering  the  stream.  Soon 
they  came  upon  some  rabbit  tracks,  and  less  than 
a  minute  later  Jack  suddenly  raised  his  double- 
barreled  shotgun  and  blazed  away. 

"Hurrah!  you've  got  him!"  cried  Fred,  and 
all  of  the  boys  rushed  forward  to  where  the  game 
lay — a  big,  fat  rabbit. 

"Say,  Jack,  you're  the  lucky  one !"  cried  Andy. 
"Now  you  know  what  you  promised  ?"  he  added. 

"All  right — it's  your  turn  now  to  have  the  shot' 
gun,"  answered  his  cousin,  for  that  was  the  bar 
gain  which  had  been  made.  "I'll  carry  the  rifle." 


42 

On  and  on  went  the  young  hunters,  getting 
deeper  and  deeper  into  the  woods.  Here  they 
managed  to  stir  up  more  game,  and  Andy  had 
the  pleasure  of  bringing  down  the  second  rabbit, 
while  the  others  laid  low  several  squirrels. 

"This  is  pretty  rough  ground  around  here," 
remarked  Jack,  after  they  had  wound  in  and  out 
around  some  exceedingly  rough  rocks  and  through 
some  thick  underbrush. 

"We  had  better  keep  close  to  this  stream,"  was 
Randy's  suggestion.  "If  we  don't,  we  may  be 
come  hopelessly  lost  in  these  woods." 

"Huh!  I  guess  we  could  find  our  way  out 
sooner  or  later,"  retorted  his  twin.  To  Andy, 
getting  lost  in  the  woods  would  seem  nothing 
more  than  a  big  joke. 

The  young  hunters  continued  to  advance,  and, 
during  the  course  of  the  next  hour,  brought  down 
several  more  rabbits,  and  also  another  squirrel. 
Then,  just  as  Andy  had  handed  back  one  of  the 
shotguns  to  Jack  and  the  weapon  had  been  re 
loaded,  they  heard  a  strange  noise  coming  from 
back  of  some  bushes  not  a  great  distance  away. 

"Now  what  do  you  suppose  that  is  ?"  whispered 
Fred. 

"I  think  I  know,  Fred,"  was  Jack's  reply; 
"and  if  I  am  right,  get  ready  to  fire  as  soon  as  I 
do." 


OUT  HUNTING 


43 


The  two  boys  with  the  shotguns  went  in  ad 
vance,  and  soon  reached  a  point  where  they  could 
look  beyond  the  bushes.  Then  came  a  sudden 
whirr,  and  up  into  the  air  went  a  small  flock  of 
pheasants. 

Bang!  bang!  rang  out  Jack's  fowling  piece, 
and  bang!  bang!  came  the  report  of  Fred's  fire 
arm. 

The  strange  whirring  continued,  but  then  three 
of  the  birds  were  seen  to  drop  to  the  ground,  one 
dead  and  the  other  two  seriously  wounded. 

"Hurrah !  we've  got  three  of  them !"  cried  Fred 
excitedly,  and  then  ran  forward,  to  quickly  put 
the  wounded  birds  out  of  their  misery. 

"Say,  that's  some  luck!"  exclaimed  Randy. 
"If  I " 

Randy  stopped  short,  and  so  did  some  of  the 
others  who  had  started  to  speak.  A  strange 
sound  from  a  distance  had  reached  their  ears. 

"Help!  help!"  came  in  a  low  cry.  "Help! 
For  heaven's  sake,  somebody  come  and  help  me !" 


CHAPTER  V 

UNCLE    BARNEY   STEVENSON 

"WHAT  is  that?" 

"It's  somebody  calling  for  help !" 

"It's  a  man's  voice;  and  he  must  be  in  pretty 
bad  shape  to  call  like  that !"  burst  out  Jack. 

"Hello  there!"  yelled  Randy.  "Where  are 
you?" 

"Here!  Under  the  fallen  tree!"  came  in  a 
faint  cry.  "Help  me,  quick!" 

"I  think  the  cry  came  from  that  direction," 
said  Andy,  pointing  with  his  hand. 

"And  I  think  it  came  from  over  there,"  added 
his  twin,  pointing  off  at  a  right  angle  to  the  first 
direction  given. 

"I  think  Andy  is  right!"  exclaimed  Jack. 
"Anyway,  he  and  I  can  go  off  in  that  direction, 
v/hile  you,  Randy,  and  Fred  can  see  if  you  can 
locate  him  over  yonder." 

Neither  of  the  boys  had  been  exactly  right  in 
locating  the  cry  for  assistance,  which  had  come 
from  a  point  about  midway  between  the  two 

4; 


UNCLE  BARNEY  STEVENSON  45 

places  suggested,  but  it  was  Jack  who  saw  a  large 
fallen  tree  from  a  distance  and  ran  quickly  toward 
it,  yelling  for  all  of  the  others  to  do  likewise. 

The  sight  which  met  their  gaze  filled  them  with 
a  pity  and  a  strong  desire  to  be  of  assistance. 
There,  in  the  snow,  lay  an  elderly  man,  clad  in  the 
garb  of  a  hunter  or  lumberman,  with  a  shotgun 
and  a  well-worn  game  bag  beside  him.  Over  the 
man's  legs  and  one  outstretched  arm,  rested  the 
upper  portion  of  a  large  pine  tree,  which  had  evi 
dently  crashed  down  because  of  the  weight  of 
snow  upon  it  but  a  short  time  before.  The  man 
lay  on  his  chest,  and  it  was  all  he  could  do  to  raise 
his  head  to  cry  for  aid. 

''Say,  this  is  tough!"  exclaimed  Andy,  as  he 
reached  the  spot.  "What  can  we  do  to  help  him  ?" 

"We've  got  to  pry  up  that  tree  somehow,"  an 
swered  Jack. 

"Come  on;  let  us  see  if  we  can't  lift  it!"  ex 
claimed  Randy,  and  took  hold  of  one  of  the  num 
erous  branches. 

The  others  did  the  same,  and  all  pulled  upon 
the  tree  with  their  utmost  strength.  Yet,  it  was 
too  heavy  for  them  and  could  scarcely  be  budged. 

"We've  got  to  get  some  kind  of  pry  and  pry 
it  up,"  announced  Jack.  "I  wish  we  had  brought 
a  hatchet  along.  I  meant  to  bring  one,  so  that 
we  could  make  firewood,  but  I  forgot  it." 


46    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"Help  me!  Help  me!"  moaned  the  man. 
''Don't  leave  me  here  pinned  down  like  this ;"  and 
then  he  seemed  to  faint. 

Alarmed  by  the  condition  of  the  sufferer,  the 
boys  ran  around  the  spot  looking  for  something 
which  might  aid  them  in  releasing  the  man.  They 
found  several  flat  stones,  and  then  discovered  a 
sapling  which  they  succeeded  in  pulling  up  by  the 
roots.  Piling  up  the  flat  stones  close  to  the  fallen 
tree,  they  placed  the  sapling  upon  them,  using  it 
as  a  lever,  and  by  this  means  Jack  and  the  twins 
managed  to  raise  the  fallen  pine  just  high  enough 
to  allow  Fred  to  haul  the  hurt  man  from  under 
it.  Then  they  let  the  pine  slip  back  to  its  original 
position. 

"Looks  to  me  as  if  he  might  have  his  two  legs 
broken,  and  maybe  his  arm,"  announced  Jack, 
after  they  had  placed  the  man  on  his  back  with 
his  head  raised  on  some  pine  boughs  stripped  from, 
the  trees.  The  sufferer's  eyes  were  closed,  and 
he  breathed  heavily. 

"We  ought  to  get  a  doctor  for  him  just  as  soon 
as  possible,"  said  Randy.  "But  where  to  go  for 
one,  excepting  back  to  Haven  Point,  I  don't 
know." 

While  the  young  hunters  were  wondering  what 
they  had  better  do,  the  man  slowly  opened  his 
eyes  and  gave  a  gasp. 


UNCLE  BARNEY  STEVENSON  47 

"Help  me!     Please  help  me!"  he  cried  feebly. 

"Don't  excite  yourself,  you're  all  right  now," 
answered  Jack  kindly.  "Take  it  easy.  We'll  do 
what  we  can  for  you." 

The  man  had  closed  his  eyes  again,  but  now 
he  opened  them  and  tried  to  look  around  him. 

"You  got  me  clear  of  the  fallen  tree,  did  you  ?" 
he  murmured.  "Good!  I  was  afraid  I'd  have 
to  stay  there  until  I  froze  to  death." 

"How  about  it  ?  Can  you  use  your  left  arm  ?" 
questioned  Jack. 

"I  don't  know.  I  guess  so,"  answered  the  man, 
and  then  tried  to  raise  the  arm  in  question.  He 
held  it  up  for  a  few  seconds,  but  then  let  it  drop 
heavily  by  his  side. 

"It's  pretty  well  lamed  I  reckon,"  lie  said. 
"You  see,  I  had  it  right  under  one  of  the  tree 
limbs." 

"What  about  your  legs?  Can  you  move  them 
at  all?"  went  on  the  oldest  Rover  boy.  He  did 
not  have  the  heart  to  mention  that  the  man's 
lower  limbs  might  be  broken. 

Feebly,  the  man  raised  up  first  one  leg  and 
then  the  other.  The  limbs  had  not  been  broken, 
but  they  were  much  bruised  and  swollen,  and  the 
movements  caused  the  sufferer  to  give  a  groan. 

"I'm  afraid  I'm  done  up  so  far  as  walking  is 
concerned,"  he  said  dolefully.  "You  see,  I'm  get- 


48    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

ting  old,"  he  went  on.  "If  I  was  a  younger  man, 
maybe  this  wouldn't  affect  me  quite  so  much. 
But  as  it  is "  He  shook  his  head  dismally. 

"I  guess  you  had  better  let  us  carry  you  out 
of  the  woods,"  said  Jack.  "You  can't  walk,  and 
you  certainly  can't  stay  here  alone." 

"Do  you  know  where  the  nearest  house  is  lo 
cated?"  questioned  Randy. 

"Let  me  see "  The  man  mused  for  a  mo 
ment,  shutting  his  eyes  while  he  did  so.  "Unless 
I'm  greatly  mistaken,  Bill  Hobson  lives  on  the 
edge  of  the  woods  just  to  the  north  of  this  spot." 

"Is  he  a  farmer?"  questioned  Fred. 

"No,  he's  a  lumberman,  like  myself,"  was  the 
reply.  The  man  looked  from  one  to  another  of 
the  youths.  "May  I  ask  who  you  are?" 

"We're  the  Rover  boys,"  answered  the  oldest 
of  the  four.  "I  am  Jack  Rover,  and  these  are 
my  cousins,  Fred,  Andy,  and  Randy." 

"Glad  to  know  you,  boys;  and  doubly  glad  to 
think  you  were  up  in  this  section  of  the  woods 
just  when  I  had  this  accident.  I  sha'n't  forget 
your  kindness.  My  name  is  Stevenson,  but  most 
all  the  folks  that  know  me  call  me  Uncle  Barney. 
I  take  it  from  your  uniforms  that  you  belong  at 
Colby  Hall." 

"We  do,"  answered  Andy. 

"I  don't  belong  in  this  neighborhood.     I  just 


UNCLE  BARNEY  STEVENSON  49 

came  over  early  this  morning  to  see  what  the  hunt 
ing  looked  like  around  here.  My  home  is  on 
Snowshoe  Island,  in  the  middle  of  Lake  Monona, 
about  ten  miles  north  of  here." 

"I  think  you  had  better  rest  on  some  of  these 
pine  boughs  while  some  of  us  try  to  locate  the 
Bill  Hobson  you  mentioned,"  said  Jack.  "Can 
you  point  out  the  general  direction  of  his  place  ?" 

"It's  up  along  this  mountain  stream,"  and  Bar 
ney  Stevenson  indicated  the  Rick  Rack  River. 
"You  just  follow  that  watercourse  for  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  and  I'm  pretty  sure  you'll  come 
to  it." 

"Well,  if  you're  sure  it's  along  this  stream,  we 
might  as  well  try  to  get  you  there  first  as  last," 
announced  Randy.  He  turned  to  his  cousins. 
"Why  can't  we  take  turns  in  carrying  him,  either 
on  our  backs  or  on  a  litter?" 

"I  think  we  had  better  try  to  make  some  sort 
of  litter  of  pine  boughs,"  answered  Jack.  "It 
will  be  much  easier  for  the  four  of  us  to  do  the 
carrying  than  for  one." 

"I've  got  a  hatchet  in  my  game  bag,  and  you 
can  cut  some  pine  boughs  with  that.  And  you 
will  find  some  cord  in  my  game  bag,  too." 

"How  did  the  accident  happen,  if  I  may  ask?" 
questioned  Randy,  while  Jack  began  to  trim  sev 
eral  large  boughs  from  the  fallen  pine. 


50    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"It  came  quicker'n  lightning,"  was  the  old  lum 
berman's  answer.  "I  had  just  spotted  a  fine,  fat 
rabbit,  and  was  taking  aim,  when,  without 
warning,  the  tree  gave  a  sudden  snap  like  the  re 
port  of  a  gun,  and  down  it  came  right  on  top  of 
me  Of  course,  I  tried  to  jump  out  of  the  way, 
but  my  foot  caught  on  a  tree  root,  or  a  rock,  or 
something,  and  down  I  went,  and  the  next  minute 
the  tree  came  down  on  top  of  me,  right  across 
my  legs  and  my  left  arm,  like  when  you  found 
me.  I  tried  to  pull  myself  loose,  but  my  legs  and 
my  arm  seemed  to  be  wedged  down  between  the 
tree  and  some  stones,  and  I  couldn't  budge  nary 
a  one  of  'em." 

"I  guess  you  can  be  thankful  that  you  didn't 
break  your  arm  or  your  legs." 

"I  suppose  that's  true,  my  boy.  Just  the  same, 
I  suppose  this  will  lay  me  up  for  a  week  or  two, 
and  maybe  longer,"  answered  Barney  Stevenson, 
dubiously. 

Having  cut  several  pine  boughs  that  looked  as 
if  they  might  answer  the  purpose,  the  four  boys 
lost  no  time  in  twisting  them  together  and  then 
tying  them  into  a  rude  litter.  Across  this  they 
laid  additional  pine  boughs,  and  upon  these  placed 
the  form  of  the  hurt  man.  When  they  moved 
him  he  shut  his  teeth  hard,  evidently  to  keep  from 
crying  out  with  pain. 


UNCLE  BARNEY  STEVENSON  51 

"I  know  it  must  hurt  you,  Mr.  Stevenson," 
said  Jack  kindly.  "We'll  be  just  as  careful  as 
possible." 

"I  know  you'll  be,  my  lads.  I  suppose  I  ought 
to  have  a  doctor,  but  if  I  can  get  to  Bill  Hob- 
son's  cabin,  I  guess  I'll  be  all  right.  Bill  will 
most  likely  have  some  liniment,  and  that  will  fix 
me  up." 

With  the  old  lumberman  resting  on  the  litter 
and  the  four  youths  carrying  this  as  carefully  as 
possible,  the  party  made  its  way  along  the  Rick 
Rack  River,  which  at  this  point  was  little  better 
than  a  mountain  torrent.  They  had  considerable 
difficulty  in  climbing  over  the  rocks  and  in  mak 
ing  their  way  through  the  heavy  brushwood,  but 
finally  they  came  out  to  a  cleared  space,  beyond 
which  there  were  only  scattered  patches  of  trees. 

"I  see  some  smoke !"  cried  Fred  presently. 

"That  must  be  the  smoke  from  Bill  Hobson's 
place,"  announced  the  old  lumberman,  aod  then 
he  closed  his  eyes  once  more  and  lay  back  on  the 
litter,  for  the  pain  he  was  suffering  was  great. 

Keeping  on  in  the  direction  where  they  had 
seen  the  smoke,  they  soon  came  in  sight  of  a 
fairly  large  cabin  with  a  lean-to  attached.  They 
marched  up  to  the  place,  and  Jack  rapped  upon 
the  door,  which  was  opened  a  moment  later  by  a 
burly  man,  well  along  in  years. 


52    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"What  do  you  want?"  began  the  man,  and 
then  looked  past  Jack  to  the  litter  and  the  old 
lumberman  lying  on  it.  "What's  this?  Why, 
it's  Uncle  Barney,  I  declare !  What's  happened  ?" 

"I  got  hurt  by  a  falling  tree,  Bill,"  was  the 
reply.  "And  if  it  hadn't  been  for  these  cadets, 
I  might  be  layin'  down  in  the  woods  yet." 

"He  is  quite  a  bit  hurt,"  explained  Jack.  "You 
had  better  let  us  carry  him  in  and  place  him  on  a 
couch  or  a  bed  of  some  kind." 

"Surest  thing  you  know,  young  man,"  an 
swered  Bill  Hobson.  "Fetch  him  right  in,"  and 
he  turned  to  make  a  bunk  ready  for  the  sufferer. 

Fortunately  the  cabin  was  well  warmed,  so  that 
as  soon  as  they  had  Barney  Stevenson  safe  in 
side,  they  lost  no  time  in  taking  off  some  of  his 
clothing  and  examining  his  hurts.  The  other  old 
lumberman,  assisted  by  Jack,  did  this,  and  Hob- 
son  examined  the  condition  of  his  friend  with 
care. 

"I  can't  see  that  anything  is  broken,"  he  an 
nounced;  "but  those  bruises  are  pretty  bad.  I 
think  I'll  bathe  'em  with  hot  water,  and  then  put 
on  some  liniment  and  bind  'em  up." 

"I  guess  I'll  have  to  stay  right  where  I  am  for 
a  spell,  Bill,"  said  the  hurt  man. 

"That's  what,  Uncle  Barney.  And  you're  wel 
come  to  stay  as  long  as  you  please,"  announced 


UNCLE  BARNEY  STEVENSON  53 

the  owner  of  the  cabin.  The  boys  had  brought 
along  the  old  lumberman's  game  bag  and  shot 
gun. 

Bill  Hobson  wanted  to  know  the  particulars  of 
the  affair,  and  the  Rover  boys  related  how  they 
had  come  up  into  the  woods  to  hunt  and  heard 
Barney  Stevenson's  cries  for  assistance,  and  how 
they  had  liberated  him  and  brought  him  along  on 
the  litter. 

"I'm  very  thankful  indeed  to  you,"  said  Bar 
ney  Stevenson,  and  his  face  showed  his  gratitude. 
"If  I  can  ever  do  you  boys  a  good  turn,  believe 
me,  I'll  do  it." 

"Didn't  you  say  you  lived  on  Snowshoe  Is 
land  ?"  queried  Jack. 

"Yes." 

"I've  heard  of  the  place,  but  I  don't  know  ex 
actly  where  it  is  located  or  why  they  call  it  Snow- 
shoe  Island." 

"It's  a  big  island  located  almost  in  the  middle 
of  Lake  Monona,"  answered  the  old  lumberman. 
"I  own  the  place,  and  it's  called  Snowshoe  Island 
because  some  years  ago  a  number  of  Indians  lived 
on  it  and  made  their  living  by  making  snowshoes. 
The  Indians  are  all  gone  now." 

"I  guess,  Uncle  Barney,  you've  lived  on  that 
island  a  good  number  of  years,"  put  in  Bill  Hob- 
son. 


54    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"Twelve  years  coming  this  Christmas,"  was  the 
reply.  "I  went  there  the  day  after  my  wife  was 
buried/'  and  the  old  lumberman's  face  clouded  as 
if  the  memory  of  what  had  happened  was  still 
bitter. 

"Do  you  do  any  lumbering  there  ?"  questioned 
Randy,  more  to  change  the  subject  than  for  any 
other  reason. 

"Oh,  yes ;  I  do  quite  some  lumbering  during  the 
season.  I  have  a  firm  in  the  city  that  sends  up 
there  every  year  for  all  the  stuff  I  cut.  At  this 
time  of  year.  I  like  to  go  out  hunting.  It's  the 
one  sport  that  I  thoroughly  enjoy.  And  I  reckon 
you  boys  enjoy  it,  too,  or  you  wouldn't  be  out 
with  your  guns." 

"Yes,  we  like  to  go  hunting  once  in  a  while." 

"Well,  now,  listen  to  me,  boys.  You  saved  my 
life  out  there  in  the  woods,  and  if  I  was  real 
well  off,  I'd  try  to  reward  you  for  it.  But,  as  it 

"We  don't  want  any  reward,"  broke  in  Jack 
quickly. 

"I  know  you  don't — you're  not  that  kind.  And 
I'm  not  going  to  offend  you  by  offering  it.  Just 
the  same,  if  you  ever  feel  like  coming  over  to 
Snowshoe  Island  and  paying  me  a  visit,  I'll  treat 
you  as  well  as  I  know  how." 

"Maybe  we  might  be  able  to  go  over  there  and 


UNCLE  BARNEY  STEVENSON  55 

do  some  hunting  some  time,"  suggested  Andy. 

"Yes,  you  come  over  some  time  and  stay  a  few 
days  or  a  week  with  me,  and  I'll  give  you  the  best 
time  hunting  I  can,"  answered  Barney  Steven 
son. 

"By  the  way,  Mr.  Stevenson,"  said  Jack  curi 
ously,  "do  you  know  a  Mr.  Frederic  Stevenson  ?" 
Jack  had  learned  from  Ruth  that  thaf  was  her 
father's  name. 

At  this  unexpected  question,  the  old  lumber 
man  opened  wide  his  eyes  and  glared  at  the  young 
cadet. 

"Yes,  I  know  him — very  well,"  he  growled. 
"But  I  don't  want  to  hear  anything  about  him — 
not  a  word!  Is  he  a  friend  of  yours?" 

"He  is  the  father  of  one  of  the  young  ladies 
who  is  a  pupil  at  Clearwater  Hall." 

"Oh,  I  see !  Humph !  Well,  I  don't  want  to 
hear  anything  about  Fred  Stevenson,  and  if  you 
want  to  be  friends  with  me,  you  needn't  mention 
his  name  to  me  again,"  went  on  the  old  lumber 
man,  much  to  the  surprise  of  the  Rover  boys. 


CHAPTER  VI 

DEEP   IN    THE   WOODS 

"WHAT  do  you  suppose  was  the  reason  that 
old  lumberman  didn't  want  to  hear  Mr.  Steven 
son's  name  mentioned?"  questioned  Randy  of 
Jack,  about  half  an  hour  later,  when  the  four 
cadets  were  tramping  through  the  woods  again 
to  resume  their  hunting. 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know,  Randy,"  was  the  slow 
reply.  "Evidently  he  was  very  bitter  over  some 
thing." 

"Having  the  same  name,  it  looks  to  me  as  if 
this  Uncle  Barney,  as  they  call  him,  might  be 
some  relative  of  Ruth's  family,"  said  Fred. 

"More  than  likely." 

"Maybe  he's  some  cast-off  relation,  who  got 
into  trouble  with  them  and  then  took  himself  off 
to  that  Snowshoe  Island,"  was  Fred's  comment. 

"I'd  have  asked  him  some  more  questions  if  he 
hadn't  acted  so  ugly  about  it,"  went  on  Jack. 

"Yes.  But  he  seemed  to  be  a  very  nice  sort 
of  man  otherwise,"  put  in  Andy  quickly. 

56 


DEEP  IN  THE  WOODS 


57 


"I  agree  with  you  there."  Jack  gave  a  little 
sigh.  "There  must  be  some  mystery  to  it." 

"Why  don't  you  ask  Ruth  about  it  some  time?" 

"I  will,  when  I  get  a  good  chance  to  do  it 
Of  course,  if  it's  some  sort  of  family  affair,  I'm 
not  going  to  butt  in." 

Before  the  Rover  boys  had  left  the  cabin  of 
Bill  Hobson,  they  had  been  assured  by  old  Uncle 
Barney  that  he  was  feeling  fairly  comfortable 
and  that  the  owner  of  the  place  would  look  after 
him  until  he  recovered.  Barney  Stevenson  had 
mentioned  Snowshoe  Island  several  times,  and 
had  told  the  boys  again  that  he  was  sorry  he  could 
not  reward  them  for  coming  to  his  assistance, 
but  that  if  they  ever  cared  to  visit  his  island,  he 
would  do  his  best  to  make  them  feel  at  home  and 
show  them  where  the  best  hunting  in  that  vicinity 
was  to  be  had.  He  had  also  mentioned  the  fact 
that  there  was  a  vacant  cabin  close  to  his  own  on 
the  island,  and  that  they  would  be  welcome  to 
camp  out  there  at  any  time  they  chose  to  do  so. 

"I'd  like  to  visit  his  place  some  time,"  said 
Fred,  "just  to  see  how  the  old  fellow  lives.  I'll 
bet  he's  got  quite  a  comfortable  outfit  there." 

"He  may  live  in  very  queer  style,"  returned 
Randy.  "According  to  what  he  says,  and  what 
that  Bill  Hobson  told  me,  he  must  be  a  good  deal 
of  a  hermit." 


58    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"Maybe  he  committed  some  sort  of  crime  and 
the  other  Stevensons  cast  him  off,"  suggested 
Andy. 

"Oh,  I  can't  think  that !  He  didn't  look  to  be 
a  criminal,"  returned  Jack.  "Don't  you  remem 
ber  what  he  said  about  taking  up  his  residence 
on  the  island  after  his  wife  died?  Maybe  that 
loss  made  him  feel  as  if  he  didn't  want  to  mingle 
with  the  rest  of  the  world." 

The  boys  talked  the  matter  over  for  some  time, 
but  could  reach  no  conclusion  whatever  regard 
ing  the  way  the  old  lumberman  had  acted  when 
Frederic  Stevenson's  name  had  been  mentioned. 
Then,  however,  they  stirred  up  some  more  squir 
rels  and  rabbits,  and  in  the  excitement  of  the 
chase  that  subject,  for  the  time  being,  was  for 
gotten. 

They  had  brought  a  lunch  with  them,  and  at 
noon  they  found  a  convenient  spot  and  there  built 
a  small  campfire,  over  which  they  made  them 
selves  a  can  of  hot  chocolate,  and  this,  with  some 
sandwiches  and  some  doughnuts,  constituted  the 
repast.  Andy  wanted  to  take  time  to  clean  a 
couple  of  the  squirrels  and  cook  them,  but  Jack 
and  the  others  were  afraid  this  would  take  too 
long,  and  so  the  idea  had  to  be  abandoned. 

"Gee!  but  this  tramping  through  the  woods 
gives  a  fellow  an  appetite !"  cried  Andy,  after  he 


DEEP  IN  THE  WOODS  59 

had  eaten  his  second  sandwich  and  his  third 
doughnut.  "I  could  eat  a  whole  rabbit  or  a  squir 
rel  myself."  And  then,  feeling  in  fine  fettle,  he 
proceeded  to  pull  himself  up  on  a  near-by  tree 
limb  and  "skin  the  cat,"  as  it  is  called  by  acrobatic 
boys. 

"You  look  out,  young  man,  that  you  don't 
tumble  down  on  your  head,"  warned  Jack.  "This 
ground  around  here  is  frozen  pretty  hard." 

"If  I  tumble,  I  know  where  I'll  land,"  cried 
Andy  gleefully;  and,  swinging  himself  back  and 
forth  on  the  tree  limb,  he  suddenly  let  go  and 
came  down  straight  on  Jack's  shoulders.  Both 
went  down  in  the  snow,  and  there  rolled  over  and 
over,  each  trying  to  get  the  better  of  the  other. 
Then  Fred  commenced  to  snowball  the  fallen  pair, 
and  Randy  joined  in;  and  a  moment  later  there 
began  a  snowball  fight  on  the  part  of  all  four 
which  lasted  about  ten  minutes. 

"Cease  firing!"  cried  Fred  at  last,  as  he  dug 
some  of  the  snow  out  of  his  left  ear.  "If  this 
is  going  to  be  a  snowballing  contest,  all  right ;  but 
I  thought  we  were  out  to  do  some  hunting." 

"Fred  surrenders,  and  the  war  is  over!"  cried 
Jack. 

"Hoist  the  milk-blue  flag  and  call  it  off !"  burst 
out  Andy  gleefully.  "Throw  the  snowballs  into 
the  ice-cream  freezer  and  season  to  taste !" 


60    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

After  that  the  four  young  hunters  packed  up 
their  belongings  and  saw  to  it  that  the  campfire 
\vas  completely  extinguished.  Then  they  con 
tinued  on  their  tramp  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Rick 
Rack  River. 

"I'm  getting  tired  of  hanging  around  this 
watercourse,"  said  Fred  finally.  "I  believe  the 
reports  of  our  guns  have  driven  all  the  remaining 
game  away.  Why  can't  we  strike  off  into  the 
woods  yonder  and  come  in  on  the  other  side  of 
Haven  Point?" 

They  noted  the  position  of  the  sun  with  care, 
and  then  struck  off  at  right  angles  to  the  river. 
Soon  they  found  themselves  going  up  hill  and 
presently  struck  a  lumberman's  trail  leading  down 
in  the  direction  of  the  town.  Here,  however, 
after  two  hours  of  hunting,  they  failed  to  find 
any  game  whatever. 

"We  didn't  improve  things  by  coming  ovei 
here,"  grumbled  Andy. 

"Now  I  guess  we  had  better  be  thinking  oi 
getting  back  to  the  school,"  said  Jack,  as  he  con- 
suited  his  watch.  They  had  been  told  that  they 
must  return  in  time  for  the  evening  meal. 

"All  right,  I'm  ready  to  go,"  came  from  Fred. 
"Gosh!  I  wish  I  had  a  horse  to  ride,  or  some 
thing."  The  many  miles  of  tramping  had  wearied 
him  greatly. 


DEEP  IN  THE  WOODS  fa 

"My  left  foot  is  beginning  to  hurt  me  a  little," 
put  in  Randy.  "I  slipped  on  the  rocks  this  morn 
ing  when  we  were  carrying  that  old  Uncle  Bar 
ney.  I  didn't  think  much  of  it  at  the  time,  but 
now  it's  growing  quite  lame." 

"You  can  walk  on  it,  can't  you?"  questioned 
Jack  anxiously. 

"Oh,  yes,  I  can  walk;  but  I  can't  go  any  too 
fast — or  any  too  far,  either." 

The  boys  had  done  their  best  to  keep  track  of 
where  they  were  going,  and  now  they  turned  in 
what  they  thought  was  the  direction  of  Haven 
Point.  But,  as  my  young  readers  may  have 
heard,  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  lose  one's  sense  of 
direction  in  the  woods,  and  before  they  knew  it, 
they  found  themselves  in  a  locality  that  was  en 
tirely  strange  to  them. 

"We  don't  seem  to  be  getting  much  closer  to 
town,"  announced  Fred  presently.  "I  don't  see 
a  farmhouse  of  any  sort  in  sight." 

They  had  gone  but  a  short  distance  when  they 
stirred  up  several  more  rabbits,  and  had  the  pleas 
ure  of  bringing  two  of  the  creatures  down.  Then 
they  came  to  a  small  clearing,  and  beyond  this 
some  farm  fields. 

"Now  we  must  be  getting  to  somewhere,"  an 
nounced  Randy;  and  a  few  minutes  later  a  turn 
of  the  road  brought  them  in  sight  of  a  farmhouse. 


62    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

Here  they  saw  a  farmer  coming  from  a  cowshed 
with  a  pail  of  foaming  milk,  and  accosted  him. 

"Sure,  you're  on  the  road  to  Haven  Point," 
answered  the  farmer,  in  reply  to  their  question. 
"It's  about  two  miles  and  a  half  from  here.  But 
do  you  want  to  go  to  the  Point  or  to  Colby  Hall  ?" 
he  went  on,  noticing  their  uniforms. 

"We  want  to  get  to  the  Hall — and  by  as  short 
a  route  as  possible,"  answered  Jack. 

"Then  the  best  thing  you  lads  can  do  is  to 
come  right  through  my  lane  here  and  go  across 
the  back  field.  Then  you  will  come  out  on  the 
road  that  runs  from  the  Hall  to  Carwell.  I  guess 
you  know  that?" 

"Oh,  yes ;  we  know  that  road,"  returned  Randy. 

The  cadets  thanked  the  farmer  for  his  infor 
mation,  and  lost  no  time  in  following  his  direc 
tions.  Soon  they  came  out  on  the  other  high 
way,  and  then  started  forward  as  rapidly  as  their 
somewhat  weary  legs  would  permit. 

When  they  reached  the  vicinity  of  Colby  Hall 
Jack  found,  by  again  consulting  his  watch,  that 
they  were  almost  three-quarters  of  an  hour  late. 

"Let's  see  if  we  can't  slide  in  without  any  of 
the  teachers  seeing  us,"  suggested  Andy. 

"Oh,  I  don't  know  that  we've  got  to  do  that, 
Andy,"  returned  Jack.  "We  haven't  done  any 
thing  wrong." 


DEEP  IN  THE  WOODS  63 

"Well,  we  are  late,  and  you  know  some  of  the 
teachers  won't  stand  for  that." 

"We  had  permission  to  go  hunting,  and  we 
couldn't  help  it  getting  lost  up  there  in  the 
woods,"  answered  his  twin. 

They  were  just  about  to  enter  one  of  the  side 
doors  of  the  Hall,  when  it  was  flung  open  and 
they  found  themselves  confronted  by  one  of  the 
younger  teachers,  accompanied  by  Professor 
Lemm.  They  stepped  to  one  side  to  let  the  teach 
ers  pass. 

"Yes,  as  I  remarked  before,  Tompkins,  unless 

you  have  strict  discipline  in  that  class "  Asa 

Lemm  was  saying,  when,  of  a  sudden,  he  hap 
pened  to  glance  at  the  cadets  and  recognized  the 
Rovers.  "What  are  you  doing  here?  Where 
have  you  been?"  he  demanded,  coming  to  an  ab 
rupt  halt. 

"We've  been  out  hunting,  sir,"  answered  Jack. 

"Hunting,  eh?"  And  as  was  usual  with  him, 
Asa  Lemm  drew  down  the  corners  of  his  mouth. 

"We  had  permission  from  Colonel  Colby  to 
go,"  put  in  Randy. 

"Ah,  well,  in  that  case "  Asa  Lemm 

paused  for  a  moment.  "Did  he  say  you  could 
stay  out  as  late  as  this?"  he  added  suddenly. 

"We  had  permission  to  stay  out  until  supper 
time,"  answered  Jack. 


64    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Don't  you  know  it  is  an  hour  after  that  time 
now,  Rover?" 

"Three-quarters  of  an  hour,  Professor.  We 
might  have  been  on  time,  only  my  cousin  here 
slipped  on  the  rocks  and  hurt  his  ankle,  and  that 
has  delayed  us  a  little." 

"Humph !  always  some  excuse !  You  boys  have 
got  to  learn  to  be  on  time.  You'll  never  get 
through  life  unless  you  are  punctual.  I  shall  men 
tion  the  fact  of  your  being  late  to  Colonel  Colby. 
Now  go  in  at  once,  and  if  you  are  too  late  to  get 
anything  to  eat,  it  will  be  your  own  fault ;"  and 
thus  speaking,  Asa  Lemm  moved  on  with  the 
other  teacher. 

"Oh,  but  he's  the  sourest  old  lemon  that  ever 
grew!"  was  Andy's  comment. 

"You  never  said  anything  truer  than  that, 
Andy,"  answered  his  twin. 


CHAPTER  VII 

AN   UNEXPECTED   MEETING 

"SAY,  fellows,  did  you  ever  hear  this  song?" 

It  was  Ned  Lowe  who  spoke.  He  sat  in  one 
of  the  rooms  belonging  to  the  Rovers.  On  his 
knee  rested  a  mandolin  which  he  had  been  strum 
ming  furiously  for  the  past  ten  minutes. 

"Sure  we've  heard  it,  Ned!"  cried  Andy. 
"What  is  it?" 

"For  gracious  sake,  Ned!  why  don't  you  let 
up?"  cried  Fred,  who  was  in  the  next  room  try 
ing  his  best  to  study.  "How  in  the  world  is  a 
fellow  going  to  do  an  example  in  algebra  with  you 
singing  about  good  times  on  the  old  plantation?" 

"That  is  right,  Ned.  Why  don't  you  sing  about 
good  times  in  the  classroom  when  Asa  Lemm  is 
there?" 

"Gee  Christopher!  what's  the  use  of  your 
throwing  cold  water  on  this  camp  meeting?"  came 
from  Walt  Baxter,  who  sat  on  the  edge  of  the 
bed  munching  an  apple. 

"Really,  it's  a  shame  the  way  you  young  gen- 
6s 


66    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

tlemen  attempt  to  choke  off  Ned's  efforts  to  please 
this  congregation!"  exclaimed  Spouter  Powell, 
who  sat  in  an  easy  chair  with  his  feet  resting  on 
the  edge  of  a  chiffonier.  "Now,  when  a  man's 
soul  is  overflowing  with  harmony,  and  beautiful 
thoughts  are  coursing  through  his  cranium,  and 
he  is  doing  his  utmost  to  bring  pleasure " 

"Wow!  Spouter  is  at  it  again!  Somebody 
choke  him  off!"  cried  Randy,  and  catching  up  a 
pillow,  he  threw  it  at  the  head  of  the  cadet  who 
loved  to  make  long  speeches. 

"Say,  fellows,  why  won't  some  of  you  let  me 
get  a  word  in  edgeways?"  came  from  Dan  Sop- 
pinger,  who  stood  with  his  back  against  the  door 
leading  to  the  hall.  "I've  been  wanting  to  ask 
you  a  question  for  the  last  ten  minutes.  Who  of 
you  can  tell  me  the  names  of  the  fifth,  tenth,  and 
fifteenth  presidents  of  our  country?" 

"Oh,  baby!"  wailed  Andy,  throwing  up  his 
hands  in  comic  despair.  "Dan  is  worse  than 
either  Spouter  or  Ned." 

"I  thought  you  were  going  to  put  a  padlock  on 
that  question  box  of  yours,  Dan,"  remarked  Fred. 

"I'll  bet  there  isn't  one  of  you  can  answer  my 
question,"  retorted  Dan  Soppinger. 

"Sure !  I  can  answer  it !"  returned  Andy  read 
ily.  "What  was  that  question?  Who  was  the 
first  laundryman  in  Chicago?" 


AN  UNEXPECTED  MEETING  67 

**No ;  I  said,  who  were  the  fifth,  the  tenth,  and 
the  fifteenth " 

"Oh!  I  remember  now — the  fifth,  tenth  and 
fifteenth  discoverers  of  the  North  Pole.  That's 
easy,  Dan.  The  fifth  was  Julius  Caesar,  the  tenth, 
Benjamin  Frank " 

"See  here !  I  didn't  say  a  word  about  the  North 
Pole  discoverers!"  ejaculated  the  Human  Ques 
tion  Box.  "I  said  the  fifth,  tenth  and 
fifteenth " 

"Men  to  find  out  how  to  manufacture  oleomar 
garine  out  of  pure  butter,"  finished  Andy.  "Now 
that's  a  purely  scientific  problem,  Dan,  not  an  or 
dinary  question.  You  want  to  take  three  pounds 
of  oleomargarine  and  divide  them  by  two  pounds 
of  unadulterated  butter,  then " 

"For  gracious  sake!  has  that  boy  gone  crazy?" 
cried  Dan  Soppinger  in  despair.  "I  come  over 
here  and  ask  an  ordinary  question  in  history " 

"How  do  we  know  it's  an  ordinary  question  in 
history?"  broke  in  Randy.  "The  five,  ten  and  fif 
teen  sounds  like  a  problem  in  higher  arithmetic." 

"Say,  Dan,  just  forgive  me  for  what  I  said, 
and  I'll  send  you  the  answer  day  after  yesterday 
on  a  postal  card,"  announced  Andy  mournfully. 
"And  I'll  prepay  the  postage,  too.  Now,  be  a 
good  boy,  Son,  and  run  along,  and  maybe  some 
time  papa  will  buy  you  a  lemon  stick,"  and  at  this 


68    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

remark  there  was  a  general  laugh,  in  the  midst  of 
which  Dan  Soppinger  threw  up  his  hands,  turned 
and  left  the  room. 

It  was  several  days  after  the  hunting  expedi 
tion,  and  the  Rover  boys  had  settled  down  once 
more  to  their  studies.  This  was  the  off  hour  in 
the  evening,  and,  as  was  usual,  a  number  of  their 
friends  had  dropped  in  to  see  them. 

"Only  three  weeks  more  to  the  winter  holi 
days,"  announced  Gif  presently.  "What  are  you 
fellows  going  to  do  with  yours  ?" 

"We  haven't  decided  yet,  Gif,  any  further  than 
that  we're  going  home,"  answered  Jack. 

"If  you  feel  like  it,  you  had  better  come  and 
pay  me  a  visit.  I  know  my  folks  would  be  only 
too  glad  to  have  you." 

"And  we'd  be  glad  to  have  you  come  down  to 
New  York  and  stay  with  us,  Gif,"  was  the  reply. 

During  the  days  that  had  gone  by  since  the 
hunt,  the  Rover  boys  had  had  several  little  differ 
ences  with  Professor  Lemm.  The  teacher  had 
spoken  to  Colonel  Colby  about  their  coming  in 
late,  but  the  master  of  the  Hall  had  passed  this 
matter  over  as  being  of  no  importance,  somewhat 
to  Asa  Lemm's  chagrin. 

"Oh,  how  I  love  that  man!"  had  been  Andy's 
comment. 

The  weather  had  remained  clear,  but  on  Thurs- 


AN  UNEXPECTED  MEETING  69 

day  of  that  week  came  another  fall  of  snow,  and 
by  Friday  this  was  in  good  condition  for  sleigh 
ing. 

"I  wonder  if  we  can't  get  up  a  sleighing  party 
for  Saturday  afternoon  and  take  out  some  of  the 
girls  from  Clearwater  Hall  ?"  said  Jack. 

"We  ought  to  be  able  to  get  some  sort  of  box-? 
sled  down  at  the  Haven  Point  livery  stable,"  an 
swered  Randy.  "Suppose  we  call  the  liveryman 
up  on  the  'phone  and  see  what  he  has  to  say,  and 
then  call  up  the  girls  ?" 

This  was  done  without  delay,  and,  as  a  result, 
it  was  arranged  that  the  liveryman  should  call  at 
the  school  early  Saturday  afternoon  for  the  four 
boys  and  some  of  their  chums,  bringing  with  him 
a  large  box-sled  drawn  by  four  horses.  Then  the 
boys  were  to  get  the  girls,  and  all  were  to  take 
a  ride  until  the  supper  hour.  It  was  arranged 
that  the  four  Rovers  should  go  on  the  ride,  and 
also  Spouter  Powell,  Gif  Garrison,  Fatty  Hen- 
dry,  and  some  others. 

"Of  course,  Fatty,  we  really  ought  to  make 
you  pay  double  price,"  remarked  Andy  to  the  fat 
boy,  when  the  arrangements  were  being  made. 

"Nothing  doing,"  grunted  Fatty.  "I  don't 
weigh  a  bit  more  than  Spouter  or  Gif." 

"Oh,  no,  not  at  all — only  about  sixty  pounds 
more!"  remarked  Gif. 


70    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

Some  of  the  girls  attending  Clearwater  Hall 
had  stated  that  they  wished  to  do  a  little  shopping 
in  Haven  Point  before  going  on  the  ride,  and  so 
all  had  promised  to  meet  the  boys  in  front  of  the 
moving  picture  theater,  which  was  a  resort  well- 
known  to  all  of  them. 

"Now  if  the  weather  only  remains  good,  we 
ought  to  have  a  peach  of  a  time,"  announced 
Randy,  after  all  the  arrangements  had  been  set 
tled. 

The  weather  remained  good,  and  promptly  on 
time  the  liveryman  drove  up  to  the  entrance  of 
the  Hall  with  his  big  box-sled,  which  he  had  filled 
with  straw  and  robes.  Into  the  sled  piled  the 
boys,  Fatty  Hendry  perching  himself  up  on  the 
front  seat  beside  the  driver. 

Some  of  the  lads  had  provided  themselves  with 
tin  horns,  and  they  set  off  on  the  trip  with  a 
grand  flourish,  a  number  of  the  cadets  left  behind 
gazing  after  them  wistfully.  But  these  lads  were 
not  utterly  disconsolate,  for  the  reason  that  skat 
ing  and  coasting  were  now  both  very  good  around 
the  school. 

The  horses  pulling  the  box-sled  were  fine  ani 
mals,  and  in  a  short  space  of  time  they  jangled 
merrily  into  Haven  Point,  the  boys  blowing  their 
horns  loadly  to  attract  attention. 

In  the  meantime,  Ruth  Stevenson  and  May 


AN  UNEXPECTED  MEETING  71 

Powell,  accompanied  by  Alice  Strobell,  Annie 
Larkins,  and  some  of  their  chums  from  Clear- 
water  Hall,  had  arrived  in  the  town  and  gone  to 
several  of  the  stores  on  various  errands.  Then, 
a  few  minutes  before  the  time  appointed  for  meet 
ing  the  cadets,  they  hurried  over  in  the  direction 
of  the  moving  picture  theater. 

Several  of  the  girls  went  into  a  drugstore  close 
to  the  theater,  leaving  Ruth  and  May  standing 
on  the  sidewalk,  looking  at  the  various  gaudy  bill 
boards  which  were  displayed  there.  The  girls 
were  discussing  the  picture  of  a  well-known  mov 
ing-picture  actress,  when  suddenly  Ruth  felt  some 
one  touch  her  arm.  Turning,  she  found  herself 
confronted  by  a  tall,  heavy-set  youth,  rather 
loudly  dressed,  and  accompanied  by  another  boy, 
wearing  a  fur  cap  and  fur-lined  overcoat. 

"Excuse  me,  but  this  is  Miss  Ruth  Stevenson, 
I  believe  ?"  said  the  big  youth,  with  a  broad  smile 
on  his  coarse  face. 

Ruth  was  not  at  all  pleased  by  being  thus  ad 
dressed,  for  she  had  recognized  the  fellow  as 
Slugger  Brown,  and  also  recognized  Nappy  Mar- 
tell.  Nappy  raised  his  cap  and  bowed  pleasantly, 
both  to  her  and  to  May. 

"We  just  got  back  to  Haven  Point,"  said 
Slugger  Brown  smoothly.  "Been  away  a  short 
while,  you  know." 


72    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"And  we  thought  we  would  go  into  the  movies 
before  going  back  to  school,"  put  in  Nappy  Mar- 
tell.  "Were  you  going  in,  too  ?  If  you  were,  let's 
go  in  together.  I'll  get  the  tickets,"  and  he  opened 
his  coat  to  thrust  his  fingers  into  his  vest  pocket 
and  bring  forth  a  small  roll  of  bills. 

"Thank  you,  we  are  not  going  into  the 
theater,"  answered  May  stiffly.  She  did  not  like 
either  Slugger  or  Nappy,  and  was  sorry  the  pair 
had  shown  themselves. 

"How  about  it?"  broke  out  Slugger,  taking 
hold  of  Ruth's  arm  in  a  decidedly  familiar  way. 
"Let's  go  in.  You've  got  time  enough." 

"Thank  you,  but  we  have  something  else  to  do, 
Mr.  Brown,"  responded  Ruth  icily. 

"You  can't  do  much  outside  on  a  cold  day  like 
this,"  went  on  the  bully.  "Come  on  in — I'm  sure 
it's  nice  and  warm  in  there,  and  they've  got  some 
dandy  pictures.  Come  ahead." 

"Sure!"  broke  out  Nappy.  "I'll  get  the  tick 
ets,"  and  he  took  several  steps  toward  the  ticket 
booth. 

"Thank  you,  but  I  said  I  didn't  want  to  go  with 
you,"  said  May,  quite  loudly  and  with  flashing 
eyes. 

"We  pick  our  company  when  we  go  anywhere," 
added  Ruth,  giving  Slugger  Brown  a  look  which 
would  almost  have  annihilated  any  ordinary  boy.  / 


73 

But  the  bully  was  proof  against  anything  of  that 
sort. 

"Oh,  you  needn't  get  on  your  high  horse  about 
it,  Ruth  Stevenson,"  he  sneered.  "Some  day 
maybe  you'll  be  glad  to  go  to  a  show  with  me." 

"If  you  won't  go,  I  guess  there  are  other  girls 
just  as  good,  and  maybe  better,"  added  Nappy 
Martell,  not  knowing  what  else  to  say. 

It  was  at  this  moment  that  the  big  box-sled  con 
taining  the  cadets  hove  into  sight.  With  a  flour 
ish,  the  driver  drew  up  to  the  curb  with  the  boys 
tooting  loudly  on  their  tin  horns,  but  this  salute 
came  to  a  sudden  end  when  the  lads  caught  sight 
of  their  former  schoolmates. 

"Look  who's  here,  will  you !"  ejaculated  Randy. 

"Slugger  Brown  and  Nappy  Martell,"  mur 
mured  Fred. 

"Say,  they  are  talking  to  Ruth  and  May!" 
broke  in  Andy. 

To  all  this  Jack  said  nothing.  But  he  lost  no 
time  in  leaping  to  the  pavement  and  walking  up 
to  the  girls,  who  came  forward  to  greet  him. 

"Oh,  I'm  so  glad  you  got  here!"  exclaimed 
Ruth  in  a  low  voice,  and  she  looked  at  Jack  ap- 
pealingly  and  then  let  her  eyes  rove  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  bully  and  his  crony. 

"Those  boys  are  just  too  horrid  for  anything !" 
murmured  May,  by  way  of  explanation. 


74 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 


"What  did  they  do  ?"  demanded  Spouter  of  his 
cousin,  he  having  quickly  followed  Jack  from  the 
sled. 

"They  almost  insisted  upon  it  that  we  accom 
pany  them  into  the  movies !" 

"Why,  they  hardly  know  you !" 

"That's  true,  Dick.  And  I  think  it  was  awful 
of  them,  the  way  they  came  up." 

"That  Brown  boy  caught  me  by  the  arm,  and 
he  had  no  right  to  do  that,"  said  Ruth  to  Jack. 
"I  don't  want  a  thing  to  do  with  him." 

"You  get  into  the  sled,  girls,  and  we'll  tend  to 
Brown  and  Martell,"  announced  Spouter,  and  the 
tone  of  his  voice  showed  his  anger. 

The  girls  did  as  bidden,  being  assisted  by  the 
others ;  and,  in  the  meantime  the  remaining  girls 
came  from  the  store  and  also  got  into  the  sled. 
Spouter  and  Jack  strode  across  the  pavement,  and 
caught  Slugger  Brown  and  Nappy  Martell  just 
as  they  were  on  the  point  of  dropping  their  tick 
ets  into  the  ticket  box. 

"Come  here  a  minute.  I  want  to  talk  to  you," 
said  Spouter,  catching  Martell  by  the  arm. 

"And  I  want  to  talk  to  you,"  added  Jack,  as 
he  detained  Slugger  Brown. 

"I  won't  talk  to  you,"  retorted  Nappy  Martell, 
and  tried  to  pass. 

"Yes,  you  will !"  answered  Spouter.    "You  lis- 


AN  UNEXPECTED  MEETING  75 

ten  to  me,  Nappy!  After  this  you  leave  my 
cousin,  May  Powell,  alone.  If  you  don't,  you'll 
have  an  account  to  settle  with  me." 

"And  you  leave  both  of  those  girls  alone!" 
said  Jack  to  Slugger  Brown.  "Miss  Stevenson 
doesn't  want  anything  to  do  with  you.  Now,  you 
mind  what  I'm  telling  you,  or  you'll  get  into 
trouble  the  first  thing  you  return  to  the  Hall!" 

"Oh,  say,  Rover,  you  make  me  tired !"  sneered 
the  bully,  glaring  at  Jack.  "I'm  not  going  to  try 
to  take  your  girl  away  from  you.  There  are 
plenty  of  better  girls  around  Haven  Point.  You 
go  about  your  business  and  leave  me  alone ;"  and, 
thus  speaking,  Slugger  Brown  passed  into  the 
moving-picture  theater,  followed  a  moment  later 
by  Nappy  Martell.  The  two  others  watched  them 
out  of  sight,  and  then  looked  at  each  other  know 
ingly. 

"One  fine  pair,  believe  me !"  was  Spouter's  com 
ment. 

"I'm  mighty  sorry  Colonel  Colby  allowed  them 
to  return  to  the  Hall,"  answered  Jack.  "I'm 
afraid  it  spells  just  one  thing — Trouble!" 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    SLEIGHING    PARTY 

"WHAT  did  you  say  to  those  horrid  young 
men?"  asked  May,  after  Jack  and  Spouter  had 
returned  to  the  box-sled  and  the  driver  had  picked 
up  the  reins  and  started  through  the  main  street 
of  Haven  Point. 

"Oh,  we  told  them  to  mind  their  own  business 
after  this,"  answered  Jack. 

"And  if  they  don't,  you  let  me  know,  and  we'll 
attend  to  them,"  said  Spouter  to  his  cousin. 

"It's  too  bad,  Jack,  they  came  back  to  Colby 
Hall,"  remarked  Ruth. 

"Right  you  are!  But  Colonel  Colby  wanted 
to  give  them  another  chance.  He  asked  us  about 
it,  and  we  didn't  want  to  stand  in  the  way  of 
Slugger  and  Nappy  turning  over  a  new  leaf." 

"Hi  there — somebody  start  a  song!"  cried 
Andy,  who  caught  a  few  words  of  what  was  said, 
and  thought  the  occasion  was  getting  too  se 
rious. 

"That's  the  talk !"  exclaimed  Alice  Strobel. 
76 


THE  SLEIGHING  PARTY  77 

"What  shall  we  sing?"  questioned  Annie  Lark- 
ins. 

"Oh,  sing  something  that  we  all  know,"  came 
from  Jennie  Mason.  She,  too,  had  seen  Slugger 
and  Nappy,  but  had  refused  to  recognize  them, 
remembering  well  the  trouble  she  and  Ida  Brier- 
ley  had  had  with  the  pair  when  all  had  gone  out 
on  the  lake  in  a  motor-boat,  the  particulars  of 
which  were  given  in  the  volume  preceding  this. 

Soon  the  happy  young  folks  were  singing  one 
familiar  song  after  another  and  shouting  and 
tooting  the  tin  horns  in  great  glee.  In  the  mean 
while  the  turnout  had  left  the  vicinity  of  Haven 
Point,  and  was  moving  swiftly  along  in  the  di 
rection  of  one  of  the  neighboring  towns. 

"Oh,  isn't  this  too  lovely  for  anything!"  ex 
claimed  May,  as  one  of  the  songs  came  to  an 
end.  "I  never  felt  better  in  my  life." 

"If  I  felt  any  better,  I'd  have  to  call  in  the 
doctor,"  announced  Andy  with  a  sudden  sober 
look  on  his  face,  and  at  this  little  sally  all  the  girls 
giggled. 

They  were  soon  passing  close  to  a  stone  wall, 
and  from  this  some  of  the  boys  scooped  handfuls 
of  snow  with  which  they  began  to  pelt  each  other. 
Then  they  attempted  to  wash  the  faces  of  some  of 
the  girls,  and  a  great  commotion  ensued. 

"Hi  you !  be  careful  back  there !"  cautioned  the 


78    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

driver.  "First  thing  you  know,  somebody  will 
get  pushed  out." 

"Oh,  that  will  never  happen!"  cried  Gif ;  but 
he  had  scarcely  spoken  when  there  came  a  wild 
yell  from  two  of  the  cadets  in  the  back  of  the 
box-sled,  and  the  next  moment  Randy  was  seen 
to  turn  over  and  pitch  out  into  the  snow. 

"Stop  the  sleigh!  Stop  the  sleigh!"  yelled 
Andy.  "One  man  overboard,  and  no  life-line 
handy!" 

"Oh,  dear!  do  you  think  he  is  hurt?"  ques 
tioned  May  anxiously. 

"He  looks  it!"  answered  her  cousin.  "Look 
out,  or  you'll  get  hit;"  for  scarcely  had  Randy 
landed  in  the  snow  than  he  picked  himself  up  and 
began  to  make  snowballs,  which  he  sent  after  the 
sled  in  rapid  succession.  In  the  meantime,  the 
driver  had  brought  the  turnout  to  a  halt. 

"Stop  that,  Randy,"  warned  Jack.  "You  might 
hit  some  of  the  girls." 

"No  more  such  horseplay,"  announced  Gif. 
"It's  too  dangerous,  and,  besides  that,  some  of  the 
girls  might  get  hurt.  You  fellows  have  got  to 
act  like  gentlemen.  Ahem!"  and  Gif  straight 
ened  himself  up  in  imitation  of  Asa  Lemm. 

"Please,  teacher,  can't  we  act  like  ladies?" 
piped  out  Andy  in  a  thin,  effeminate  voice. 

"You'll  remain  after  school  for  that,  Rover, 


THE  SLEIGHING  PARTY  79 

and  recite  one  hundred  lines  of  Qesar  backward," 
commanded  Gif. 

"You  bet  your  pink  necktie,  I'll  be  backward 
about  reciting  the  hundred  lines !"  murmured  the 
fun-loving  boy. 

The  cadets  had  already  arranged  it  between 
themselves  to  stop  at  a  town  about  twelve  miles 
away.  There  all  hands  trooped  into  a  candy 
store  to  regale  themselves  with  dainty  sand 
wiches  and  hot  chocolate.  Some  of  the  boys  also 
obtained  boxes  of  candy,  and  also  some  popcorn 
and  peanuts,  as  well  as  apples,  and  these  were 
passed  around. 

So  far,  Jack  had  had  no  opportunity  to  speak 
to  Ruth  in  private,  but  while  the  others  were  still 
at  the  little  tables  in  the  rear  of  the  candy  shop, 
he  motioned  to  her,  and  the  pair  walked  toward 
the  front. 

"I  want  to  ask  you  about  the  man  we  rescued 
in  the  woods,  Ruth,"  he  said.  "Probably  you 
know  him.  His  name  is  Stevenson,  although  he 
said  he  was  usually  called  Uncle  Barney  by  all 
who  knew  him." 

"Why,  can  that  be  possible !"  exclaimed  the  girl 
in  astonishment.  "Uncle  Barney  Stevenson! 
Why  didn't  you  tell  me  this  before?" 

"I'll  tell  you  why,"  he  answered.  "I  was  afraid 
that  possibly  it  might  create  some  sort  of  scene. 


So    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

By  the  way  this  Barney  Stevenson  acted,  I  knew 
there  was  something  wrong  between  him  and  your 
folks.  When  I  mentioned  your  father's  name,  he 
said  he  didn't  want  to  hear  anything  about  him — 
not  a  word !" 

"Poor  old  man !  I  am  so  sorry  for  him ;"  and 
Ruth's  manner  showed  that  she  spoke  the  truth. 

"Why  doesn't  he  want  to  hear  from  your 
father?  But,  excuse  me,  Ruth — maybe  that  is  a 
private  matter." 

"I  don't  know  that  it  is  so  very  private,  Jack. 
And,  anyway,  I'd  like  you  to  know  the  truth, — 
otherwise  you  might  get  a  wrong  impression — 
if  you  heard  the  story  from  outsiders.  In  a  nut 
shell,  the  matter  is  this:  Some  years  ago  my 
father  and  his  Uncle  Barney  were  connected  with 
a  certain  manufacturing  company  in  which  both 
held  a  considerable  interest.  The  company  went 
to  pieces,  and  my  father  and  Uncle  Barney  both 
lost  their  money.  But  my  father  had  other  in 
terests  which  were  distantly  connected  with  this 
company,  and  in  some  manner  poor  old  Uncle 
Barney,  who  was  not  much  of  a  business  man 
even  though  he  was  a  lumberman,  got  it  into  his 
head  that  my  father  had,  in  some  manner,  gotten 
the  best  of  him,  because  my  father  had  money  and 
he  had  not.  Then,  in  the  midst  of  this  trouble, 
Uncle  Barney's  wife  died.  My  father  was  away 


THE  SLEIGHING  PARTY  8l 

in  the  West  at  the  time  with  my  mother,  and 
could  not  get  back  in  time  for  the  funeral.  This 
made  Uncle  Barney  more  bitter  than  ever,  and 
he  refused  to  listen  to  any  explanations  my  folks 
might  make.  He  had  made  some  sort  of  deal  to 
get  possession  of  Snowshoe  Island  in  Lake  Mo- 
nona,  and  he  retired  to  the  island  and  became  al 
most  a  hermit." 

"Yes,  he  told  us  he  lived  on  the  island,  and  he 
invited  us  to  come  over  there,  and  he  would  show 
us  some  good  hunting.  I  suppose  it  must  be  quite 
a  place." 

"My  father  has  tried  several  times  to  patch  up 
matters  with  old  Uncle  Barney,  but  he  will  not 
listen  to  any  explanations.  He  is  rather  queer  at 
times,  and  I  suppose  he  has  it  strongly  fixed  in 
his  mind  that  my  father  is  in  some  manner  respon 
sible  for  his  poverty,  and  that  we  think  ourselves 
too  high-toned  to  have  anything  to  do  with  him, 
when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  my  folks  would  be  very 
much  pleased  to  have  the  old  man  become  friends 
and  live  with  them." 

"Why  doesn't  your  father  send  him  a  letter  if 
he  won't  listen  to  his  talk  ?" 

"He  has  tried  that.  And  mother  has  written 
old  Uncle  Barney  some  letters,  too,  during  the  last 
six  or  eight  years.  But  he  is  very  peculiar,  and 
the  letters  come  back  unopened." 


82    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"And  you  really  feel  that  you  would  like  to  b€ 
on  good  terms  with  him?" 

"Yes,  Jack.  My  folks  would  give  a  good  deal 
to  smooth  the  whole  matter  over.  But,  instead 
of  becoming  reconciled  to  the  situation,  old  Uncle 
Barney  apparently  is  becoming  more  bitter  as 
time  goes  by." 

"If  you  and  your  folks  feel  that  way  about  it, 
I'd  like  very  much  to  meet  the  old  man  again  and 
have  a  talk  with  him.  Of  course,  he  told  me  that 
he  never  wanted  to  hear  your  father's  name  men 
tioned  ;  but  if  I  got  a  good  chance  I  might  be  able 
to  get  him  to  open  up  and  tell  me  his  side  of  the 
story.  And  after  he  had  done  that,  he  might  be 
more  willing  to  listen  to  what  I  had  to  say." 

"Oh,  Jack!  if  you  ever  do  get  the  chance,  try 
to  talk  to  him,  by  all  means,  and  do  what  you 
can  to  impress  it  on  his  mind  that  my  father  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  loss  of  his  money,  and 
that  my  folks  would  have  gone  to  Mrs.  Steven 
son's  funeral  had  they  been  able  to  do  so.  And 
tell  him,  too,  that  my  father  and  my  mother,  and 
also  myself,  would  be  very  glad  to  become  friends 
once  more,  and  that  our  house  will  be  open  to  him 
at  any  time." 

The  others  of  the  sleighing  party  were  now 
coming  up,  so  there  was  no  chance  of  saying  any 
thing  further  regarding  the  strange  affair. 


THE  SLEIGHING  PARTY  83 

"Let's  return  to  Haven  Point  by  some  other 
route,"  suggested  Spouter. 

"We'll  have  to  ask  the  driver  about  the  roads 
first,"  said  Gif. 

The  driver  had  gone  out  to  look  after  his 
horses.  When  questioned,  he  stated  that  they 
might  return  by  a  roundabout  way  through  the 
village  of  Neckbury,  but  that  it  might  take  half 
an  hour  or  so  longer. 

"Oh,  I  guess  we've  got  time  enough,"  said 
Fred,  consulting  his  watch.  "The  girls  haven't 
got  to  get  back  to  Clearwater  Hall  until  supper 
time,  and  we  can  get  from  one  school  to  the  other 
in  a  jiffy  in  the  sleigh." 

The  liveryman  was  anxious  to  please  the  boys 
and  girls,  being  desirous  of  getting  more  business 
from  them  in  the  future,  and  he  readily  agreed  to 
take  them  home  by  the  way  of  Neckbury,  and  he 
also  agreed  to  get  them  back  by  the  required 
time. 

Once  more  all  bundled  into  the  turnout,  and 
then,  with  a  crack  of  the  whip  and  a  loud  toot 
ing  of  the  horns,  they  started  on  the  return. 

"Another  song  now!"  cried  Andy,  and  com 
menced  one  of  the  ditties  which  at  that  time  was 
popular  at  Colby  Hall.  In  this  the  girls  joined, 
most  of  them  having  heard  it ;  and  thus  the  crowd 
continued  to  enjoy  themselves. 


84    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

So  far,  they  had  met  but  few  turnouts  on  the 
road,  but  now  they  found  that  the  other  route  to 
ward  Haven  Point  was  more  popular,  and  they 
passed  several  farm  sleds,  and  also  a  number  of 
cutters,  and  even  two  automobiles,  the  latter 
ploughing  along  through  the  snow,  using  their 
heavy  chains  for  that  purpose. 

They  were  soon  mounting  a  small  hill,  and  the 
driver  allowed  the  horses  to  drop  to  a  walk. 
From  the  top  of  the  hill  they  could  see  for  many 
miles  around,  with  farms  dotting  one  side  of  the 
roadway  and  the  other  sloping  down  gradually 
toward  the  distant  lake. 

"I'm  afraid  we're  going  to  be  a  little  late,  after 
all,"  announced  Gif,  as  he  looked  at  his  time 
piece.  "You'll  have  to  shake  it  up  a  bit,  old  man," 
he  added  to  the  driver. 

"Oh,  I'll  get  you  there  in  time— don't  worry," 
was  the  ready  reply,  and  then  the  driver  cracked 
his  whip  and  sent  his  horses  down  the  other  side 
of  the  hill  at  a  good  rate  of  speed. 

About  half  way  down  the  long  hill  there  was  a 
turn  to  the  right.  Here,  on  the  outer  edge  of  the 
road,  was  a  gully  which  the  wind  of  the  day 
previous  had  partly  filled  with  snow.  Just  be 
fore  this  bend  was  gained,  those  in  the  box-sled 
heard  the  toot  of  an  automobile  horn. 

"Somebody  coming  up  the  hill,"  said  Fatty 


THE  SLEIGHING  PARTY  85 

Hendry,  who  had  resumed  his  seat  beside  the 
driver. 

"Confound  'em!  and  I've  got  to  take  the  out 
side  of  the  turn,"  muttered  the  liveryman. 

"Better  be  careful — it's  none  too  wide  along 
here,"  cautioned  the  fat  youth. 

The  driver  was  already  reining  in  his  steeds, 
but  the  slope  was  considerable,  and  it  was  hard 
to  hold  them  back.  The  box-sled  struck  the  rear 
horses  in  the  flanks,  and  away  they  went  as  fast 
as  ever,  crowding  the  horses  in  front  and  urging 
them  onward  also.  Then  the  on-coming  auto 
mobile  hove  in  sight,  and  passed  so  closely  that  the 
driver  of  the  box-sled  had  to  pull  still  further 
over  to  the  edge  of  the  highway. 

"Look  out  where  you're  going!"  yelled  Jack. 

"I  told  you  to  be  careful "  commenced 

Fatty,  and  then  clutched  at  the  high  seat  of  the 
box-sled. 

There  was  a  wild  scream  of  alarm  and  a  gen 
eral  confusion  among  all  the  young  people  as  the 
back  end  of  the  box-sled  slewed  around.  One 
corner  went  down  into  the  gully,  and  an  instant 
later  the  box-sled  stood  up  on  its  side,  and  girls 
and  cadets  went  floundering  forth  into  the  snow. 


CHAPTER  IX 

A   MISHAP   ON   THE  ROAD 

"GRACIOUS!  where  are  we  going?" 

"Get  off  my  head,  Randy!" 

"Say,  Spouter,  don't  sit  down  on  Ruth  that 
way!" 

"Hi!  stop  the  horses,  somebody!"  screamed 
Fred,  and  then  he  leaped  up  and  clung  to  the 
partly  overturned  box-sled,  while  Gif  and  another 
cadet  did  the  same. 

The  driver  had  sensed  the  coming  of  the  acci 
dent,  and  when  the  box-sled  went  over  to  one 
side,  he  had  leaped  to  the  other.  Now  he  was 
standing  in  the  snow  with  the  reins  still  in  his 
hands  and  doing  his  best  to  quiet  the  somewhat 
frightened  steeds,  which  were  plunging  into  each 
other  in  anything  but  an  orderly  fashion. 

Down  in  the  gully  the  girls  and  the  cadets  were 
having  an  exciting  time  of  it.  Some  of  the  party 
had  plunged  almost  head  first  into  the  snow. 

"Come  on,  boys,  help  the  girls  all  you  can!" 
came  from  Jack,  as  he  managed,  though  not  with- 

86 


A  MISHAP  ON  THE  ROAD  87 

out  considerable  effort,  to  bring  Ruth  to  her  feet. 

Fred  and  Randy  were  already  assisting  May  to 
arise,  and  soon  the  other  girls  and  boys  were  do 
ing  what  they  could  to  scramble  through  the  deep 
snow  toward  the  highway.  Here  there  was  a 
slippery  slope  of  several  feet. 

Jack  was  the  first  boy  up,  and  Randy  came  be 
hind  him.  Then,  while  the  two  Rovers,  assisted 
by  Spouter,  held  fast  to  each  other,  they  pulled 
up  one  girl  after  another.  In  the  meanwhile,  the 
other  cadets  made  something  of  a  chain,  and  soon 
all  stood  at  the  spot  where  the  box-sled  had  over 
turned. 

"AH  here?"  queried  Gif. 

"I  guess  so,"  answered  Spouter,  knocking  some 
snow  from  his  cap. 

The  driver  of  the  box-sled,  assisted  by  several 
of  the  cadets,  had  managed  to  quiet  the  horses, 
some  of  which  were  inclined  to  bolt.  The  box- 
sled  was  all  right,  and  the  boys  picked  up  what 
they  could  of  the  dry  straw,  and  also  shook  out 
and  replaced  the  robes. 

"Oh,  my,  what  a  dreadful  experience!"  re 
marked  Annie  Larkins. 

"Oh,  I  don't  know  that  it  was  so  very  dread 
ful,"  returned  Ruth.  "No  one  was  hurt." 

"But  we  might  have  been,"  added  Jennie  Ma 
son. 


88    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Oh,  I  thought  it  was  fun,"  laughed  Ruth. 

"It  was  the  fault  of  that  auto,"  grumbled  the 
liveryman,  thinking  he  had  to  defend  himself. 
"He  crowded  me  too  close  to  the  edge  of  the 
gully." 

"That's  just  what  he  did !"  cried  Fatty.  "The 
fellow  who  was  driving  that  car  ought  to  be  ar 
rested." 

"Did  you  get  his  number,  Fatty?"  questioned 
Fred. 

"Get  his  number?  I  didn't  have  time  to  get 
anything.  He  just  slid  by,  and  the  next  thing  I 
knew,  I  was  turning  a  somersault  in  the  air  and 
diving  right  down  into  the  bottom  of  that  hole ;" 
and  at  this  remark  the  other  cadets  had  to  smile. 

The  cadets  assisted  the  girls  back  into  the  box- 
sled,  and  then  they  moved  off  once  more,  Jack 
and  Gif  both  cautioning  the  driver  to  be  careful. 

Now  that  the  danger  was  past,  the  young  folks 
soon  recovered  from  their  scare,  and  then,  to  put 
all  in  a  better  humor,  Andy  started  another  school 
song,  in  which  all  joined  lustily.  Thus  they  soon 
rolled  into  town,  and  a  little  later  came  up  to  the 
entrance  of  the  Clearwater  grounds. 

"I've  had  a  prefectly  splendid  time,  in  spite 
of  that  little  mishap,"  declared  Ruth,  as  she  bid 
Jack  good-bye. 

"We  couldn't  have  had  a  nicer  afternoon," 


A  MISHAP  ON  THE  ROAD  89 

said  May.  "You  can  come  around  with  your 
box-sled  just  as  often  as  you  please;"  and  she 
smiled  mischievously,  in  a  way  that  set  Fred's 
heart  to  bounding. 

As  it  was  growing  late,  the  boys  had  scant 
time  in  which  to  bid  the  girls  good-bye.  Soon 
they  were  on  the  way  to  Colby  Hall,  and  they 
told  the  driver  to  hurry  as  much  as  possible. 

"If  we're  late  and  Asa  Lemm  finds  it  out,  he'll 
certainly  punish  us  in  some  way,"  was  Randy's 
comment. 

"Well,  we're  in  luck  for  once,"  announced 
Gif.  "I  heard  old  Lemon  say  that  he  was  going 
away  right  after  lunch  and  wouldn't  be  back  until 
to-morrow." 

"It  seems  to  me  he  has  been  spending  quite 
some  time  away  lately,"  remarked  Spouter.  "Not 
but  what  I'm  perfectly  willing  that  he  should  ab 
sent  himself  at  every  possible  opportunity.  The 
institution  of  learning  can  very  well  dispense  with 
the  services  of  such  an  individual  as  Professor 
Asa  Lemm." 

"A  little  long-winded,  Spouter,  but  you  hit  the 
nail  on  the  head,"  answered  Fred.  "Old  Lemon 
could  quit  for  good,  and  I  doubt  if  any  of  us 
would  shed  a  tear." 

Although  the  cadets  were  half  an  hour  late, 
neither  Colonel  Colby  nor  any  of  the  professors 


90    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

who  saw  them  found  any  fault,  and  for  this  they 
were  thankful. 

As  soon  as  he  had  an  opportunity  to  do  so, 
Jack  told  his  cousins  about  what  Ruth  had  said 
regarding  old  Barney  Stevenson.  They  listened 
to  his  recital  with  keen  interest. 

"He  certainly  must  be  a  queer  stick,"  was 
Randy's  comment.  "Just  the  same,  I'd  like  to  go 
to  Snowshoe  Island  and  visit  him." 

"Yes,  and  try  the  hunting  around  that  neigh 
borhood,"  added  Fred.  "According  to  what  that 
Bill  Hobson  said,  Uncle  Barney,  as  they  call  him, 
must  be  quite  a  hunter,  as  well  as  a  lumberman." 

"I'd  like  to  have  the  chance  to  talk  with  him," 
resumed  Jack.  "From  the  way  Ruth  spoke,  I'm 
quite  sure  her  folks  are  very  much  put  out  over 
the  way  he  is  acting." 

"I'll  tell  you  what !"  put  in  Andy,  "we're  going 
to  have  an  extra  long  Christmas  holiday,  and  we 
might  get  a  chance  to  go  over  to  Snowshoe  Is 
land  hunting  at  that  time." 

"How  do  you  know  the  holiday  is  going  to  be 
extra  long?"  queried  Fred. 

"I  heard  Professor  Brice  saying  so.  It  seems 
they  have  got  to  fix  some  part  of  the  heating 
plant,  which  is  pretty  well  worn  out,  and  the  fur 
nace  man  said  it  would  take  longer  than  at  first 
expected.  So,  instead  of  closing  up  for  ten  days 


A  MISHAP  ON  THE  ROAD  91 

or  two  weeks  at  Christmas,  they  are  going  to 
shut  down  for  about  three  weeks." 

"Three  weeks !  That  will  give  us  a  nice  holi 
day  at  home  and  give  us  a  chance  for  an  outing 
in  the  bargain,"  cried  Jack. 

Late  that  evening  Slugger  Brown  and  Nappy 
Martell  put  in  an  appearance  and  were  closeted 
with  Colonel  Colby  for  the  best  part  of  half  an 
hour.  What  was  said  by  the  master  of  Colby 
Hall  the  other  cadets  did  not  learn,  but  the  two 
new  arrivals  looked  exceedingly  meek  when  they 
went  up  to  their  former  rooms.  On  the  follow 
ing  day  they  met  the  Rovers,  but  paid  no  atten 
tion  whatever  to  them. 

"Maybe  they  are  going  to  give  us  the  cold 
shoulder,"  remarked  Fred. 

"Well,  that  won't  hurt  me,"  answered  Jack. 

Several  days  went  by,  and  the  Rover  boys  ap 
plied  themselves  closely  to  their  studies,  real 
izing  that  before  long  the  examinations  previous 
to  the  Christmas  holidays  would  take  place.  They 
did  very  well  in  their  recitations,  and  got  along 
nicely  with  all  the  professors  except  Asa  Lemm. 

"There  is  no  use  of  talking — I  can't  get  along 
with  that  man!"  said  Andy  one  afternoon.  He 
was  almost  in  despair.  "If  I  hadn't  just  shut 
my  mouth  hard  when  old  Lemon  lectured  me, 
there  would  have  been  an  explosion,  and  I'd  have 


92    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

told  him  just  exactly  what  I  think  of  him — and 
it  wouldn't  have  been  anything  that  he  would  want 
to  hear." 

"Gif  was  telling  me  that  Lemm  is  getting  more 
and  more  anxious  about  some  of  that  money  he 
lost  years  ago." 

"Maybe  he  thought  he  saw  a  chance  of  getting 
it  back,  and  now  it  is  slipping  away  from  him 
again,  and  that  is  making  him  more  sour  than 
ever,"  suggested  Randy. 

"I  don't  care  what  is  making  him  so  sour — he 
needn't  take  it  out  of  me,"  retorted  his  twin. 

There  had  been  another  slight  fall  of  snow, 
and  on  Thursday  afternoon  the  cadets  of  Colby 
Hall  organized  a  grand  snowball  match.  A  fort 
was  built  on  the  top  of  a  little  hill  in  the  vicinity, 
and  one  crowd  of  cadets  defended  this,  while  the 
others  made  an  attack.  The  school  flag  was 
hoisted  over  the  fort,  and  the  battle  raged  fu 
riously  for  over  an  hour.  Major  Ralph  Mason 
was  in  charge  of  the  fort  defenders,  while  the 
Rover  boys,  along  with  half  of  the  school  ca 
dets,  composed  the  attacking  party.  The  fort 
'was  captured  only  after  a  terrific  bombardment 
with  snowballs,  and  it  was  Jack  who  had  the 
pleasure  of  hauling  down  the  flag. 

"Some  fight  that!"  remarked  Fred,  after  the 
contest  was  over. 


A  MISHAP  ON  THE  ROAD  93 

"Almost  like  a  real  battle,"  said  Randy.  "Just 
look  at  my  left  ear,  will  you?"  and  he  pointed 
to  that  member,  which  was  much  swollen.  "Got 
hit  there  twice — with  regular  soakers,  too." 

"Well,  that's  part  of  the  game,  Randy,"  re 
marked  Jack.  He  had  been  hit  half  a  dozen 
times,  but  had  not  minded  it  in  the  least. 

On  the  following  afternoon  the  Rover  boys 
visited  a  long  hill  in  that  vicinity,  which  a  num 
ber  of  the  cadets  were  using  for  coasting  pur 
poses.  With  money  sent  to  them  by  Jack's  father, 
they  had  purchased  a  fine  bobsled,  and  on  this 
they  took  numerous  rides,  along  with  several  of 
their  chums. 

There  were  two  ways  of  going  down  the  hill. 
One  was  in  the  direction  of  Haven  Point,  and 
the  other  wound  around  a  second  smaller  hill 
and  ended  in  the  pasture  lot  of  an  old  farmer. 
This  farmer  was  an  Irishman  named  Mike 
O'Toole,  a  pleasant  enough  individual,  who  had 
often  given  the  boys  rides  on  his  farm  wagon, 
and  who  was  not  averse  to  selling  them  fruit, 
and  also  milk,  when  they  desired  it.  He  was 
such  a  good-natured  old  man  that  very  few  of  the 
cadets  ever  thought  to  molest  his  orchard. 

"Say,  I've  got  an  idea!"  cried  Andy  suddenly, 
when  he  and  the  other  Rovers  were  riding  down 
into  O'Toole's  pasture.  "Let's  go  down  and  have 


94 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 


a  look  at  the  old  man's  goats,"  and  he  winked 
knowingly  at  his  twin. 

O'Toole  had  once  lived  in  the  city,  and  there 
had  been  the  proud  possessor  of  several  goats, 
which  he  had  used  in  one  of  the  public  parks, 
where  they  were  attached  to  little  wagons  in 
which  the  children  could  ride  for  ten  cents  per 
person.  O'Toole  had  brought  his  goats  to  the 
farm  with  him,  and  treated  them  with  as  much 
affection  as  if  they  were  members  of  his  family. 

"What  have  you  go  up  your  sleeve,  Andy?" 
questioned  Fred,  as  they  got  off  the  bobsled  and 
dragged  it  behind  them  toward  Mike  O'Toole's 
house.  The  old  Irish  farmer  and  his  wife  lived 
alone,  having  no  children  and  no  hired  help. 

"Oh,  I  thought  we  might  hire  a  goat  or  two 
to  pull  the  bobsled,"  was  the  easy  answer. 

"To  pull  the  bobsled?" 

"To  be  sure.  If  those  goats  can  pull  wagons, 
they  can  certainly  pull  sleds,  too.  Then,  I  thought 
if  we  could  get  the  goats  to  pull  us  all  the  way 
to  Colby  Hall,  it  wouldn't  be  any  more  than  fair 
to  take  the  goats  in  out  of  the  cold  and  treat  'em 
nicely." 

"Oh,  I  see!"  cried  Randy,  who  was  listening 
to  his  twin's  talk.  "For  instance,  we  might  take 
the  goats  into  the  Hall  and  up  to  Professor 
Lemm's  room,  eh?" 


A  MISHAP  ON  THE  ROAD  95 

"You've  caught  the  idea,  Randy.  What  do 
you  think  of  it?" 

"Fine !    Couldn't  be  better !"  chuckled  the  other. 

"What's  this  talk  about  taking  O'Toole's  goats 
to  Colby  Hall?"  demanded  Jack. 

"Oh,  we  were  thinking  Professor  Lemm  would 
like  to  see  the  goats." 

The  oldest  Rover  boy  looked  stern  for  an  in 
stant,  but  then  his  mouth  relaxed  and  he  broke 
into  a  broad  grin. 

"Of  course,  we'll  have  to  be  careful  how  we 
get  the  goats  into  the  Hall,"  he  began. 

"Hurrah !  I  knew  it  would  hit  you  just  right, 
Jack!"  cried  Andy,  slapping  his  cousin  on  the 
shoulder.  "Just  you  wait — we'll  make  old  Lemon 
sit  up  and  take  notice  this  time !" 

"But  muni's  the  word — remember  that,"  cau 
tioned  Randy.  "If  he  ever  caught  us,  well — 
good-night '/' 


CHAPTER  X 

SOMETHING   ABOUT   TWO   GOATS 

THE  four  Rover  boys  were  almost  up  to  Mike 
O'Toole's  place  when  suddenly  Jack  caught  Andy 
by  the  shoulder. 

"Wait  a  minute!"  he  exclaimed. 

"What's  wrong  now?"  demanded  the  fun-lov 
ing  youth. 

"I've  just  been  thinking,  Andy.  If  we  take 
those  goats  into  the  Hall  and  get  into  any  kind 
of  trouble,  Professor  Lemm  will  find  it  an  easy 
matter  to  learn  who  got  the  goats  from  O'Toole." 

"That's  right,  too!"  broke  in  Fred,  in  dismay. 

"Maybe  we  can  get  the  goats  on  the  sly,"  sug 
gested  Randy. 

"I  think  that  would  be  the  better  way  to  do  it," 
answered  Jack.  "We  can  leave  a  note  behind, 
stating  that  the  goats  will  be  returned,  and  we 
can  also  pay  O'Toole  something  for  using  his 
animals." 

The  boys  talked  the  matter  over  for  several 
minutes,  and  then  it  was  decided  that  Andy  and 

96 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  TWO  GOATS 


97 


Randy  should  go  ahead  and  reconnoitre.  This 
they  did,  and  were  gone  for  about  ten 
minutes. 

"The  coast  is  clear  so  far  as  we  can  see,"  an 
nounced  Randy.  "Mike  O'Toole  and  his  wife 
are  both  in  the  kitchen  of  the  farmhouse  pre 
paring  supper. 

"And  where  are  the  goats?"  questioned  Fred 
quickly. 

"He  keeps  them  in  a  little  shed  off  of  his  barn. 
Come  on,  I'll  show  you,"  returned  Randy. 

The  other  cadets  followed  him,  and  they  soon 
reached  the  place  he  had  mentioned.  Here 
O'Toole  kept  six  goats,  and  they  were  found 
finishing  up  some  food  he  had  evidently  given 
them  a  short  while  before. 

Two  of  the  billy  goats  were  quite  large,  one 
possessing  a  very  fine  pair  of  horns.  This  one, 
the  boys  knew,  was  called  Patrick.  The  other 
large  goat  went  by  the  name  of  Dan. 

"Here  is  the  harness,"  said  Andy,  bringing 
it  from  some  pegs  on  which  it  was  hanging. 
"We'll  have  to  do  the  best  we  can  about  hitching 
'em  up." 

While  the  others  were  doing  this,  Jack  tore  a 
page  from  a  notebook  he  carried,  and  on  this, 
in  a  large,  disguised  hand,  he  wrote  the  follow 
ing: 


08    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"DEAR  MR.  OTooLE : 

"We  have  taken  the  privilege  of  using  two  of 
your  goats  until  to-morrow.  They  will  be  safely 
returned  to  you." 

"I  think  we  ought  to  pay  him  for  the  use  of 
the  animals/'  said  Jack.  "A  little  money  will 
make  him  feel  a  great  deal  better." 

"Let's  pin  two  dollars  to  the  note,"  suggested 
Fred,  and  this  was  done  by  Jack  and  the  note 
placed  where  the  Irish  farmer  would  be  sure  to 
find  it  when  he  came  again  to  tend  to  his  ani 
mals. 

It  was  an  easy  matter  for  the  four  boys  to 
get  the  goats  out  of  the  shed,  and  then  they  led 
them  to  a  spot  behind  some  trees  where  the  ani 
mals  were  hitched  to  the  bobsled.  Soon  they 
started  on  the  way  to  Colby  Hall. 

"Now  that  we've  got  possession  of  the  goats, 
how  do  you  fellows  expect  to  work  this  stunt?" 
demanded  Fred,  as  they  brought  the  two  goats 
down  to  a  walk. 

"I'll  tell  you  one  thing,"  declared  Jack.  "If 
you  want  to  play  this  trick  without  the  whole 
school  knowing  it,  you  had  better  reach  Colby 
Hall  by  the  lane  that  comes  up  behind  the  barn." 

"Just  what  I  was  thinking  of  doing,"  answered 
Andy.  "I  thought  maybe  we  could  stable  them 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  TWO  GOATS  99 

in  that  little  toolhouse  in  the  cornfield  until  we 
had  a  chance  to  get  'em  into  the  Hall." 

"That's  the  talk !"  cried  Randy.  "Of  course, 
we'll  have  to  watch  our  chance,  and  not  make  a 
mess  of  it" 

The  two  billy  goats  had  often  been  harnessed 
together,  so  they  got  along  quite  amiably  on  the 
trip  to  the  Military  Academy.  They  were  strong 
animals,  and  consequently  the  boys  reached  the 
field  behind  the  barn  in  ample  time  to  unhitch  the 
goats  and  place  them  in  the  toolhouse  that  had 
been  mentioned.  Then  they  hurried  around  to  the 
garage,  where  they  were  allowed  to  store  their 
bobsled,  and  after  that  lost  no  time  in  getting 
ready  for  the  evening  parade  and  drill. 

Directly  after  supper  was  over,  the  Rovers 
took  Spouter,  Gif  and  Fatty  Hendry  aside  and 
told  them  of  what  was  in  the  wind. 

"Oh,  say !  that's  great !"  cried  Fatty.  "Let  me 
have  a  hand  in  it,  won't  you?"  He  had  had  a 
quarrel  with  Asa  Lemm  a  few  days  before,  and 
was  as  sore  as  any  of  the  other  cadets. 

"You  ought  to  let  us  all  have  a  hand  in  that, 
Andy,"  put  in  Spouter.  "I  believe  every  one  of 
us  feels  the  same  way  when  it  comes  to  old 
Lemon.  He  may  have  a  vast  amount  of  learning 
stored  in  his  cranium,  but  his  font  of  the  milk 
of  human  kindness  is  completely  dried  up.  Were 


I0o    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

he  to  realize,  or  have  the  least  conception " 

"Cut  it,  Spouter !"  interposed  Gif .  "We  agree 
with  you — Asa  Lemm  is  the  lemon  of  all  lemons, 
and  I  for  one  would  like  to  teach  him  some  kind 
of  lesson." 

The  matter  was  talked  over  for  some  time,  and, 
as  a  result,  a  number  of  other  cadets,  including 
Walt  Baxter,  Ned  Lowe  and  Dan  Soppinger, 
were  let  into  the  secret. 

"Some  of  you  will  have  to  keep  tab  on  Lemm 
while  others  see  if  the  coast  is  clear  during  the 
time  we  are  trying  to  get  the  goats  upstairs," 
announced  Randy. 

"I  don't  think  we'll  have  an  easy  time  getting 
two  animals  to  old  Lemon's  room,"  remarked 
Fred.  "However,  we'll  get  'em  up  there  some 
how!" 

Dan  Soppinger  was  detailed  to  locate  and 
watch  Asa  Lemm,  and  he  soon  came  back  and 
reported  that  the  professor  was  sitting  in  a  corner 
of  the  school  library,  making  notes  from  several 
volumes. 

"Well,  you  watch  him,  Dan,"  said  Jack,  "and 
if  he  starts  to  come  upstairs,  you  let  us  know 
at  once ;"  and  to  this  Soppinger  agreed. 

After  the  supper  hour,  the  cadets  had  their 
usual  studying  to  do,  and  then  came  another  hour 
for  recreation  previous  to  retiring. 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  TWO  GOATS  101 

"Now  is  our  time,"  said  Andy,  as  he  threw 
aside  his  books  and  leaped  to  his  feet.  "Come 
on!  Everybody  on  the  job!" 

The  lads  had  already  figured  out  how  they 
expected  to  get  the  goats  up  to  Asa  Lemm's  room, 
In  the  extreme  rear  of  the  school  building  was 
located  an  outside  fire-escape  leading  from  the 
third  and  second  floors  to  the  ground.  At  each 
floor  there  was  a  large  doorway  with  a  bolt  on 
the  inside.  In  order  to  induce  the  goats  to  mount 
the  steps  of  the  fire-escape,  the  boys  had  provided 
themselves  with  some  vegetables  purloined  from 
the  kitchen  storeroom.  Leaving  the  others  to 
watch  on  the  fire-escape  and  in  the  upper  hallway 
of  the  school,  the  Rovers  went  out  to  the  tool- 
house  and  released  the  two  goats. 

"Now  then,  Patrick  and  Dan,  be  good!"  said 
Randy,  patting  the  animals  on  the  neck.  And 
then  he  handed  each  of  them  a  small  carrot. 

With  more  vegetables  displayed  close  in  front 
of  them,  the  two  billy  goats  mounted  the  fire- 
escape  quite  nimbly,  being  rewarded  with  some 
thing  more  to  eat  when  they  stood  on  the  landing 
in  front  of  the  door  leading  into  the  upper  hall 
way. 

"Now  if  they  only  don't  take  it  into  their  heads 
to  let  out  a  loud  'ba'  when  they  get  into  the 
hall !"  said  Fred  anxiously. 


"We'll  feed  them  something/'  returned  Jack. 
"That  will  be  sure  to  keep  them  quiet,"  and  he 
passed  over  some  bits  of  celery  he  had  in  his 
pocket 

A  cautious  rap  on  the  iron  door,  and  it  was 
unbolted  by  Walt  Baxter,  who  had  been  assigned 
to  that  duty. 

"How  about  it — is  the  coast  clear?"  whispered 
Andy  anxiously. 

"I  think  so;  but  wait  a  minute  and  I'll  make 
sure,"  whispered  Walt  in  return. 

Soon  he  came  back  with  word  from  Fatty  and 
Ned  that  the  rear  hall  of  the  school  was  practic 
ally  deserted.  Ned  had  already  tried  several  keys 
in  the  door  to  Asa  Lemm's  apartment,  and  un 
locked  it. 

It  was  by  sheer  good  luck  that  the  boys  man 
aged  unobserved  to  get  the  two  goats  into  the 
school  through  two  hallways  and  at  last  into  the 
room  of  the  hated  professor. 

On  one  side  of  the  professor's  bedroom  there 
was  a  large  clothing  closet,  and  in  this  the  two 
goats  were  placed. 

"Now  we'll  take  off  their  harness,"  said  Jack. 
"There  is  no  use  in  getting  that  snarled  up  or 
damaged." 

"I'm  going  to  fix  up  some  new  harness  for 
them,"  announced  Randy.  "Come  on,  Andy." 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  TWO  GOATS         103 

His  twin  understood,  and  while  the  others  re 
mained  on  guard  in  the  hallway,  Randy  and  Andy 
lost  no  time  in  decorating  the  two  goats  with  vari 
ous  articles  of  Professor  Lemm's  wearing  ap 
parel.  They  buttoned  a  coat  around  each  goat  like 
a  blanket,  and  got  a  bright  green  sweater  over 
one  goat's  head  and  around  his  neck.  Then 
they  found  a  number  of  used  neckties  in  a  chif 
fonier,  and  these  were  tied  on  the  goat's  legs  and 
horns. 

"They  sure  do  look  like  some  goats  now!" 
cried  Andy  gaily.  Then  the  animals  were  shoved 
back  into  the  closet  and  the  door  closed. 

"Is  the  coast  still  clear?"  asked  Randy,  as  they 
came  out  of  the  bedroom. 

"It  is.  But  I  don't  think  Lemm  will  stay  down 
stairs  much  longer,"  answered  Jack. 

"Will  you  fellows  come  down  again  ?  I've  got 
another  idea!"  burst  out  Randy.  "Come  on — 
quick!" 

Not  knowing  what  was  in  the  wind,  the  others 
followed  him  through  the  hallway  and  down  the 
fire-escape  once  more.  Then  he  led  them  to  a 
place  behind  the  garage.  Here  were  a  number  of 
flat  boxes,  which,  in  the  springtime,  had  been 
used  for  raising  plants.  These  boxes  had  had  a 
small  amount  of  water  in  them,  and  were  now 
filled  with  thin  sheets  of  ice. 


104    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Let's  take  a  few  of  those  sheets  of  ice  up 
stairs,"  said  Randy.  "They'll  fit  in  very  nicely 
between  the  sheets  on  old  Lemon's  bed." 

All  of  the  others  caught  at  the  suggestion  with 
avidity,  and  in  a  very  few  minutes  each  of  the 
boys  was  mounting  the  fire-escape  once  again,  this 
time  with  a  large  sheet  of  ice,  not  unlike  a  heavy 
pane  of  glass,  under  his  arm. 

"I've  got  a  scheme,"  suggested  Andy,  with  a 
broad  grin.  "We'll  place  three  of  the  sheets  of 
ice  in  his  bed  under  the  sheet,  and  the  others  on 
the  floor  here  right  in  front  of  the  door.  Then 
he'll  have  a  chance  to  slide  into  the  room." 

"Wow!  and  maybe  it  won't  be  some  slide!" 
chuckled  Walt  Baxter. 

The  sheets  of  ice  were  soon  placed  in  the  bed 
and  covered  with  some  of  the  bedspreads,  and 
the  others  were  disposed  on  the  hardwood  floor 
directly  in  front  of  the  door  inside  the  room. 
Then  the  cadets  turned  out  the  lights,  locked  the 
door  as  before,  and  hurried  away. 

It  was  less  than  five  minutes  later  when  Dan 
Soppinger  came  rushing  upstairs,  whistling  in  a 
peculiar  manner.  This  was  a  signal  that  danger 
was  at  hand. 

"He  just  put  the  books  away,  and  he's  gather 
ing  up  his  papers,"  announced  Dan.  "I  think  he'll 
be  upstairs  in  a  few  minutes  more." 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  TWO  GOATS         105 

"All  right,  Dan,  we're  ready  for  him,"  an 
nounced  Randy.  "Now  then,  fellows,  if  there 
isn't  some  fun  when  Asa  Lemm  enters  his  room, 
then  I  miss  my  guess." 

The  joke  that  was  to  come  off  seemed  to  be  too 
good  to  keep,  and  as  a  consequence,  after  a  hur 
ried  consultation,  about  a  dozen  other  cadets  were 
let  into  the  secret.  All  watched  eagerly  for  the 
coming  of  Professor  Lemm,  and  there  was  a  low 
•whistle  of  warning  went  from  room  to  room 
when  the  hated  teacher  was  seen  to  be  mounting 
the  stairs. 

As  was  quite  usual  with  him,  Asa  Lemm  was 
not  in  good  humor.  He  had  been  hunting  up  a 
number  of  references  in  the  library  without  his 
usual  success. 

"This  job  of  teaching  is  getting  worse  and 
worse,"  he  grumbled  to  himself.  "It's  too  bad 
that  I've  got  to  waste  my  time  on  these  boys.  If 
I  could  only  get  back  some  of  that  money  I  lost, 
I  wouldn't  spend  another  hour  over  this  tiresome 
task,"  and  he  heaved  a  deep  sigh.  The  loss  of 
his  little  fortune  was  the  one  great  sore  spot 
with  him. 

He  came  swinging  through  the  hall  with  long, 
rapid  strides,  and  as  he  did  so  the  Rovers  and 
their  friends  watched  him  from  various  doorways 
and  side  halls.  They  saw  him  unlock  his  door 


106    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

and  throw  it  open.  The  next  instant  came  a  sud« 
den  yell  of  alarm,  and  then  a  tremendous  bump. 
Asa  Lemm's  feet  had  struck  the  sheets  of  ice  on 
the  floor,  and  they  had  gone  out  from  under  him 
very  suddenly,  letting  him  down  flat  on  his  back. 

"Hi!  hi!  what's  the  meaning  of  this?"  splut 
tered  the  teacher ;  and  then,  as  his  hand  struck  the 
icy  coldness  of  what  was  beneath  him,  he  gave 
another  cry.  "Ice !  What  does  this  mean  ?  Can 
the  water  pipes  have  burst  and  flooded  the  room  ?" 

Not  without  difficulty  he  managed  to  regain  his 
feet,  and  then  started  to  walk  to  where  he  could 
turn  on  the  lights.  But  again  he  slipped,  and  this 
time  he  came  up  against  a  small  table  piled  high 
with  books  and  sent  this  over  with  a  crash. 

"Gee!  he's  sure  enjoying  himself!"  chuckled 
Andy. 

"Come  on,  fellows,  let's  see  what  all  the  noise 
is  about!"  exclaimed  Jack  in  a  loud  voice. 
"Something  dreadful  must  be  going  on  in  Pro 
fessor  Lemm's  room." 

"What's  the  matter — is  somebody  getting 
killed  ?"  called  out  Randy. 

"It  isn't  a  fire,  is  it?"  broke  in  Walt  Baxter, 
catching  the  cue. 

"Sounds  to  me  as  if  somebody  was  pulling  the 
school  down,"  was  Spouter's  contribution. 

"Everybody  to  the  rescue !"  yelled  Ned  Lowe. 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  TWO  GOATS         107 

These  cries,  combined  with  the  noise  which  was 
coming  from  Asa  Lemm's  apartment,  caused  such 
a  commotion  that  soon  fully  a  score  of  other 
cadets  showed  themselves  in  the  hallway. 

"What's  the  matter?"  questioned  Slugger 
Brown,  who  had  just  been  on  the  point  of  retir 
ing,  and  who  was  in  his  pajamas  and  slippers. 

"Something  going  on  in  Professor  Lemm's 
room,"  answered  Nappy  Martell,  who  had  been 
with  him,  and  who  was  similarly  attired. 

By  this  time  Professor  Lemm  had  managed  to 
regain  his  feet  a  second  time,  but  the  broken 
sheets  of  ice  were  now  all  over  the  floor  of  his 
room,  and  just  as  he  managed  to  turn  on  the 
lights  he  slipped  once  more,  this  time  sending  a 
chair  spinning  against  the  closet  door. 

"It's  ice — it's  ice,  and  nothing  else !"  he  ejacu 
lated,  as  he  gazed  in  wonder  at  the  floor.  "Now, 
how  did  that  come  here  ?  I  don't  see  any  broken 
water  pipe."  Then,  of  a  sudden,  his  face  took 
on  a  dark  look.  "It's  those  boys — confound 
them !  If  I  can  catch  them,  I'll  make  them  suffer 
for  this!" 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  JOKE  OH  ASA  LEMM 

"LET'S  go  in  and  see  what's  the  matter  with 
the  poor  man,"  suggested  Andy. 

"That's  right— maybe  he's  got  a  fit." 

"Something  has  happened  to  Professor 
Lemm!"  yelled  one  of  the  other  cadets. 

By  this  time  the  commotion  had  attracted  the 
attention  of  nearly  everybody  in  the  school,  and 
teachers  and  cadets  came  running  from  all  direc 
tions,  and  even  some  of  the  hired  help  from  the 
kitchen  came'  up  the  back  stairs,  wondering  what 
had  gone  wrong.  Then  the  bunch  of  boys,  led 
by  the  Rovers,  suddenly  threw  open  the  door 
which  led  to  Asa  Lemm's  room.  It  was  at  this 
instant  that  the  astonished  and  bewildered  pro 
fessor  was  making  his  way  toward  the  closet 
door.  A  strange  thumping  had  reached  his 
ears. 

"I  knew  it — it's  some  of  those  boys,  and  more 
than  likely  one  of  them  got  locked  into  the  closet 
by  his  fellows.  I'll  soon  find  out  who  he  is  and 

108 


log 

make  him  tell  me  who  is  responsible  for  this 
outrage !" 

The  door  had  been  locked  by  Randy,  but  the 
key  was  in  it,  and  readily  turned.  Then  Pro 
fessor  Lemm  flung  the  door  open  viciously. 

"You  rascals,  I'll  teach  you  to  play  tricks  on 
me !"  he  began,  as  in  the  somewhat  dim  light  he 
made  out  what  he  thought  were  the  forms  of 
two  crouching  boys.  Then  he  let  out  a  sudden 
yell  of  alarm  as  one  of  the  crouching  figures- 
launched  itself  forward  at  him.  The  figure  was 
that  of  Patrick,  the  larger  of  the  goats. 

Bewildered  by  the  confinement,  and  not  at  all 
liking  the  way  in  which  he  had  been  dressed  up, 
the  big  billy  goat  hurled  himself  straight  at  the 
teacher.  He  struck  Asa  Lemm  fairly  and 
squarely  in  the  stomach,  bowling  him  over  as  if 
he  were  a  tenpin.  Then  he  made  another  leap, 
and  landed  on  the  top  of  the  bed,  where  he  gazed 
around,  not  knowing  which  way  to  turn  next. 

"Oh  my !  look  at  what  Professor  Lemm  has  in 
his  room!"  piped  up  Andy. 

Asa  Lemm  had  rolled  over  and  was  now  trying 
to  get  up,  but  just  as  he  raised  himself  on  his 
hands  and  knees,  he  struck  some  of  the  sliding 
sheets  of  ice,  and  down  he  went  once  more,  this 
time  directly  in  front  of  the  other  goat,  which 
promptly  proceeded  to  leap  on  top  of  him. 


no 

"Hi !  get  off  of  me,  you  rascal !"  spluttered  the 
professor,  and  thrashed  around  wildly.  "Get  off 
of  me!  Who  are  you,  anyway?"  and  then,  as  he 
,got  a  better  sight  of  the  animal,  which  at  that 
1  moment  leaped  up  on  the  bed  beside  his  mate,  he 
turned  and  sat  up  in  amazement 

"A  goat!  Two  goats!  How  did  they  get 
here?" 

"What  do  you  know  about  this?  Professor 
Lemm  is  keeping  goats  in  his  room !"  cried  Jack. 

These  and  a  score  of  other  cries  rent  the  air, 
while  all  the  cadets  crowded  into  the  doorway  of 
the  room  to  see  what  was  going  on.  In  the  bunch 
of  boys  were  Slugger  Brown  and  Nappy  Martell, 
and  it  must  be  confessed  that  these  two  unwor- 
thies  were  enjoying  the  scene  quite  as  much  as 
anybody. 

"I'll  fix  some  of  you  for  this!"  roared  Asa 
Lemm,  as  he  struggled  to  his  feet,  slipping  around 
and  clutching  the  end  of  his  bed  as  he  did  so. 
"I'll  have  some  of  you  suspended!  Where  is 
Colonel  Colby?  Send  for  Colonel  Colby  at 
once!" 

Evidently  Patrick,  the  larger  goat,  did  not  like 
the  looks  of  the  irate  teacher,  who  was  now  shak 
ing  his  fists  at  the  grinning  cadets.  Suddenly  the 
goat  made  another  leap,  this  time  striking  Asa 
Lemm  in  the  shoulder,  and  once  more  the  pro- 


THE  JOKE  ON  ASA  LEMM  m 

fessor  went  down,  this  time  with  his  feet  sliding 
directly  under  the  bed,  so  that  he  became  some 
what  wedged  in  from  his  waist  down.  Then  the 
goat  made  another  leap  and  charged  toward  the 
door  to  the  hallway. 

"Look  out !"  warned  Jack,  and  was  just  in  time 
to  push  Fred  out  of  danger.  Then  the  goat  made 
a  rush,  and  the  next  minute  came  full  tilt  into 
Slugger  Brown,  sending  the  bully  crashing  into 
those  behind  him.  The  second  goat  also  leaped 
from  the  bed,  and  made  for  the  doorway,  hitting 
Martell  as  he  passed. 

"Look  out  for  the  battering-ram!" 

"This  is  only  a  battering  goat — but  it's  just  as 
bad!"  yelled  Andy.  Go  it,  goat!  Go  it*."  he 
added  gleefully. 

Both  goats  did  "go  it"  They  raced  through 
the  hallway,  knocking  down  cadets  right  and  left. 
One  younger  boy,  named  Stowell,  but  who  was 
always  called  Codfish  by  the  others  because  of  his 
unusually  broad  mouth,  was  attacked  at  the  head 
of  the  stairs  and  sent  hurtling  down  to  the  bot 
tom. 

"Oh !  oh !  I'm  killed !  He  has  knocked  me  to 
pieces !"  yelled  Codfish. 

With  the  two  goats  racing  around  the  school, 
the  excitement  increased.  But  gradually  the  goats 
were  driven  by  the  Rovers  to  a  lower  hallway, 


1 12    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

and  then  toward  a  side  door,  which  Jack  and 
Fred  lost  no  time  in  opening. 

"Get  them  out  of  here  as  quick  as  you  can. 
We  don't  want  them  to  be  captured,"  whispered 
Jack  to  his  cousins.  "We  don't  want  old  Lemon 
to  know  they  are  Mike  O'Toole's  animals." 

"Stop  those  goats!  I  don't  want  them  to  get 
away!"  yelled  Asa  Lemm,  from  the  upper  hall 
way.  But  the  goats  were  already  outside. 

"Oh  gee!  we  forgot  one  thing — I  mean  sev 
eral  things!"  gasped  Andy.  "The  goats  are 
dressed  up  in  old  Lemon's  clothes !" 

"Gracious!  why  didn't  we  think  of  that?" 
gasped  Randy.  "We  can't  let  'em  run  away  with 
all  that  stuff!" 

"I'll  go  after  them  and  see  if  I  can  stop  them," 
said  Jack. 

"Want  me  to  go  with  you?"  questioned  Walt. 

"If  you  will,  Walt.  Maybe  it  will  take  two  of 
us  to  manage  the  goats."  And  then  Jack  and 
Walt  hurried  off  and  the  others  returned  to  see 
what  would  happen  next. 

Fortunately  for  the  boys  who  had  gone  after 
them,  the  goats  did  not  run  very  far.  Jack  had 
a  few  more  vegetables  left  in  his  pocket,  and 
with  these  in  his  hand  he  walked  cautiously  up 
to  the  animals,  which  had  run  down  to  a  corner 
of  the  campus. 


THE  JOKE  ON  ASA  LEMM  113 

"Hurrah!  I've  got  one  of  them!"  cried  the 
Rover  boy  presently,  as  he  caught  Patrick  by  the 
horns.  "Now,  Walt,  see  if  you  can  hold  the 
other,  and  we'll  take  these  things  off  of  them." 

Now  that  they  were  once  more  in  the  open  air, 
the  goats  appeared  to  be  quite  docile,  and  conse 
quently  the  two  cadets  had  little  difficulty  in  dis 
robing  them. 

"Why  don't  you  return  the  goats  to  O'Toole 
while  you  are  at  it?"  suggested  Walt,  after  the 
wearing  apparel  had  been  placed  in  a  small 
bundle. 

"I'd  do  it  if  I  had  their  harness,  Walt." 

"Want  me  to  go  back  for  it?" 

"If  you  will." 

"All  right,  I'll  do  it.  And  give  me  that  bundle. 
I'll  smuggle  it  into  the  school  somehow  and  watch 
my  chance  to  leave  it  in  old  Lemon's  room." 
Evidently  the  son  of  Dan  Baxter  was  as  bold  as 
his  father  had  ever  been  before  him. 

So  it  was  arranged,  and  a  minute  later  Walt 
disappeared  into  the  school  building.  He  was 
gone  the  best  part  of  five  minutes,  and  then  came 
running  across  the  school  campus,  carrying  the 
goats'  harness  under  his  sweater. 

"Gee,  but  they  are  having  a  peach  of  a  time 
in  the  school,"  he  announced.  "Asa  Lemm  is 
quarreling  with  Colonel  Colby,  who  came  over 


j!4    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

from  his  rooms.  He  wants  to  have  half  the 
school  arrested  on  account  of  the  goats  and  the 
ice." 

"What  did  you  do  with  the  bundle?" 

"Oh,  say — that  was  easy !  All  the  crowd  were 
around  old  Lemon  and  the  colonel  discussing  the 
matter,  so  I  slipped  behind  them  and  threw  the 
bundle  in  the  corner  of  Lemon's  room." 

The  two  Rovers  lost  no  time  in  placing  a  little 
of  the  harness  on  the  goats — just  sufficient  to 
drive  them. 

"Now,  you  needn't  go  with  me,  Walt,  unless 
you  want  to.  I  can  get  these  goats  to  O'Toole's 
alone." 

"Oh,  I'd  just  as  lief  keep  you  company,"  an 
swered  the  other  cheerfully. 

Urging  the  two  goats  before  them,  the  pair 
made  off  down  the  hill  in  the  direction  of  the 
O'Toole  farm.  The  animals  seemed  to  know  the 
way  home,  and  kept  up  a  brisk  pace. 

"Now  then,  we  had  better  go  a  bit  slow,"  an 
nounced  Jack,  when  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
buildings.  "Maybe  O'Toole  has  discovered  the 
absence  of  the  goats,  and  is  on  the  watch  for  us." 

This  warning,  however,  was  unnecessary,  for 
the  old  Irish  farmer  and  his  wife  had  retired 
for  the  night,  doing  this  without  being  aware  of 
what  had  taken  place  among  their  live  stock. 


THE  GOAT  CAME  FULL  TILT  INTO  SLUGGER  BROWN. 
The  Rover  Boys  on  Snowskoe  Island.  Page 


THE  JOKE  ON  ASA  LEMM  115 

Cautiously  the  two  cadets  opened  the  goat 
stable  and  led  the  animals  inside.  Then,  while 
Walt  lit  a  couple  of  matches,  Jack  managed  to 
place  the  goats  where  they  had  been  before,  and 
also  put  the  harness  away. 

"I  don't  think  I'll  leave  that  note,  or  the  money 
either,"  he  said.  "Maybe  it  will  be  as  well  if 
O'Toole  never  knows  that  the  goats  were  out.  I 
don't  think  the  experience  did  them  any  harm. 
If  it  did,  we  can  settle  with  O'Toole  later;"  and 
he  pocketed  the  note  he  had  previously  written, 
and  also  the  money.  Then  the  two  cadets  lost 
no  time  in  hurrying  back  to  Colby  Hall. 

In  the  meantime,  what  Walt  had  said  about 
the  commotion  going  on  at  the  school  was  true. 

"I  tell  .you,  sir,  it's  a  perfect  outrage !"  bawled 
Asa  Lemm  at  the  top  of  his  lungs.  "An  outrage, 
sir,  and  I  demand  satisfaction!" 

"Please  do  not  become  so  excited,  Professor," 
responded  Colonel  Colby.  "We  must  try  to  get 
at  the  bottom  of  this  matter.  You  say  there  is 
ice  on  the  floor  of  your  room  ?" 

"Yes,  sir;  a  perfect  pond  of  ice!" 

"Did  somebody  flood  your  floor  and  then 
freeze  it?"  questioned  the  master  of  the  Hall  in 
wonder. 

"I  don't  know  how  it  was  done.  But  it  was 
done,  and  I  nearly  broke  my  neck  the  minute  I 


Il6    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

entered  the  room.  It  was  disgraceful!  I  never 
saw  anything  to  equal  it !"  and  Asa  Lemm's  face 
was  fairly  purple  with  rage. 

"And  what  about  those  goats  ?" 

"They  were  locked  up  in  my  closet  and  dressed 
up  in  some  clothing — my  clothing,  I  suppose." 

"Then,  when  they  ran  out  of  the  building,  they 
must  have  taken  your  clothing  with  them." 

"More  than  likely.  Oh,  it's  shameful!"  and 
the  irate  professor  shook  his  fists  in  his  rage. 

"Where  are  the  goats  now?" 

"I  don't  know,  and  I  don't  care." 

"One  of  those  goats  knocked  me  flat,"  growled 
Slugger  Brown. 

"Yes,  and  he  biffed  me  one,  too,"  came  from 
Nappy  Martell. 

"Let  us  go  and  make  an  investigation,  Pro 
fessor  Lemm,"  remarked  Colonel  Colby.  "I  will 
accompany  you  to  your  room,"  for  they  were  now 
near  the  stairway  which  the  goats  had  descended. 

The  pair  proceeded  to  the  apartment,  followed 
by  some  of  the  other  teachers  and  nearly  all  of 
the  cadets.  By  this  time  much  of  the  ice  on  the 
floor  had  melted,  forming  little  pools  of  muddy 
water. 

"We  had  better  have  this  cleaned  up  at  once," 
said  Colonel  Colby,  and  turned  to  one  of  the 
t*achers.  "Order  some  of  the  hired  help  up  here, 


THE  JOKE   ON  ASA  LEMM  117 

please;"  and  the  teacher  hurried  off  to  execute 
the  errand. 

While  Colonel  Colby  was  looking  at  the  ice  and 
the  water,  Asa  Lemm  chanced  to  glance  in  a 
corner.  Then  he  strode  forward  and  caught  up 
the  bundle  Walt  Baxter  had  flung  there. 

"What  is  that?"  questioned  the  master  of  the 
Hall.  And  then,  as  the  professor  undid  the  bun 
dle,  he  continued:  "Is  that  your  clothing?" 

"I — I  think  it  is,"  faltered  Asa  Lemm.  "Yes, 
sir." 

"Did  they  undress  the  animals  before  they  let 
them  go  ?"  queried  the  master  of  the  school,  and, 
if  the  truth  must  be  told,  he  had  all  he  could  do 
to  keep  a  straight  face.  He  could  not  help  but 
remember  some  of  the  pranks  he  had  played  him 
self  while  a  cadet  at  Putnam  Hall. 

"I  don't  know  anything  about  this,  Colonel 
Colby.  But  these  are  my  things,"  and,  catching 
up  the  bundle,  Asa  Lemm  flung  it  into  the  cloth 
ing  closet.  He  continued  to  storm  around,  de 
manding  that  some  of  the  boys  be  punished  for 
what  had  occurred.  While  this  was  going  on, 
two  of  the  hired  help  came  up  from  the  kitchen 
with  pails  and  mops,  and  presently  succeeded  in 
cleaning  up  the  floor.  Two  rugs  which  had  been 
lying  there  were  taken  away  to  be  dried. 

"I  think  we  had  better  let  this  matter  rest  until 


Il8    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

morning,"  said  Colonel  Colby  finally.  "It  is  too 
late  to  start  an  investigation  now.  I  wish  all  of 
you  to  retire  at  once,"  he  commanded,  to  the 
amused  cadets. 

"Some  one  is  going  to  suffer  for  this,"  growled 
Asa  Lemm. 

"I  shall  do  what  I  can  for  you,  Professor," 
announced  the  master  of  the  Hall,  and  then  he 
moved  away,  scattering  the  cadets  before  him. 

Most  of  the  boys  retired  to  their  rooms  smiling 
broadly  to  themselves,  for  nearly  all  of  them  had 
enjoyed  the  joke  greatly. 

"But  it  isn't  over  yet,"  whispered  Andy  to  his 
immediate  friends.  "There  is  more  to  come. 
Just  watch  and  see !" 


CHAPTER  XII 
IN  COLONEL  COLBY'S  OFFICE 

As  soon  as  Jack  and  Walt  returned  to  Colby 
Hall,  they  hurried  up  to  the  rooms  occupied  by 
the  Rover  boys.  They  found  Jack's  cousins  pres 
ent,  and  also  Gif,  Spouter  and  several  others. 

"We  had  the  best  luck  ever!"  declared  Jack, 
and  related  how  they  had  managed  to  get  the 
goats  back  to  Mike  O'Toole's  stable  without  the 
Irish  farmer  being  aware  of  what  had  happened. 

"Say,  that's  fine!"  burst  out  Andy. 

"We  want  to  be  on  the  watch,"  remarked 
Randy.  "Old  Lemon  will  be  going  to  bed  pretty 
soon,  and  we  want  to  find  out  just  how  comfort 
able  he  finds  his  bed,"  and  he  grinned. 

Word  had  been  passed  around  to  about  a  dozen 
of  the  cadets,  and  as  soon  as  the  school  had 
quieted  down  and  the  others  had  retired  to  their 
rooms,  these  cadets  came  forth  into  the  halls  on 
tiptoes  and  made  their  way  noiselessly  in  the 
direction  of  the  apartment  occupied  by  Asa 
Lemm. 

"9 


120    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"He's  arranging  that  clothing  in  his  closet," 
announced  Andy,  after  peering  through  the  key 
hole  in  the  door.  "He's  partly  undressed,  so  I 
guess  he'll  go  to  bed  pretty  soon." 

There  was  a  short  silence,  and  then  the  boys 
heard  the  bed  creak  as  Professor  Lemm  got  into 
it.  An  instant  later  came  a  cry  of  rage. 

"What's  this  ?  More  ice,  I  declare !  The  bed 
is  sopping  wet!  Oh,  those  young  rascals!"  for 
Asa  Lemm  had  thrown  himself  down  beneath  the 
spread  under  which  had  been  placed  several  sheets 
of  thin  ice.  A  large  portion  of  the  ice  had  melted, 
and  the  sheets  were  as  wet  as  they  were  cold.  As 
a  consequence,  his  pajamas  were  pretty  well 
soaked,  and  he  shivered  as  he  threw  the  covers 
back  and  bounced  to  his  feet. 

"He's  enjoying  it  all  right  enough,"  whispered 
Andy. 

"Hang  those  boys!"  roared  the  irate  teacher. 
"Oh,  what  I  wouldn't  do  to  them  if  I  had  them 
here !"  He  hopped  around  the  room  first  on  one 
foot  and  then  on  the  other,  shivering  as  he  did 
so.  As  was  usual,  the  steam  throughout  the 
building  had  been  turned  off  some  time  before, 
so  that  the  apartment  was  quite  cold. 

"We  had  better  scatter,"  warned  Jack.  "He 
may  open  the  door  at  any  instant  and  find  us 
here." 


IN  COLONEL  COLBY'S  OFFICL  12i 

"Right  you  are!"  answered  Randy,  and  then, 
unable  to  resist  the  temptation,  he  bent  down  and 
shouted  through  the  keyhole:  "Pleasant  dreams, 
Professor!  I  hope  you  enjoyed  the  ice-water!" 

Then  all  of  the  cadets  fled  to  their  rooms,  and 
in  less  than  five  minutes  each  of  them  was  un 
dressed  and  safe  in  bed. 

If  ever  there  was  an  angry  man,  it  was  Asa 
Lemm  at  that  particular  moment.  He  had  to 
change  all  his  night  clothing,  and  then  don  a  bath 
robe  and  slippers  and  go  down  below  once  more 
and  get  some  of  the  hired  help  to  clean  up  his 
room  and  take  away  the  wet  mattress  of  his  bed. 
A  dry  mattress  was  substituted  from  a  vacant 
bedroom,  but  it  was  all  of  half  an  hour  before 
this  work  was  accomplished ;  and  in  the  meantime 
the  professor  stormed  around,  threatening  about 
everything  he  could  imagine. 

"I'll  have  the  law  on  them !  I'll  have  every  one 
of  them  locked  up!"  he  said  to  Colonel  Colby. 
"It's  an  outrage  that  I  should  be  treated  in  this 
fashion." 

"It  is  certainly  a  most  unpleasant  occurrence, 
Professor,"  agreed  the  master  of  the  Hall.  "But 
boys  will  be  boys — you  know  that  as  well  as  I 
do.  I  can  remember  when  I  went  to  school,  I 
loved  to  play  practical  jokes,  and  they  were  not 
always  kindly  jokes,  either.  But  as  for  having 


122    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

these  boys  arrested,  or  anything  of  that  sort,  that, 
I  think,  would  be  going  too  far.  We  can  punish 
them  enough  right  here — that  is,  provided  we  can 
find  out  who  they  are." 

"I  don't  believe  in  such  jokes!" 

"Neither  do  I — now  that  I  have  grown  older. 
But  I  did  believe  in  them  when  I  was  a  boy." 

"The  trouble  with  this  school  is,  the  discipline 
is  not  strict  enough,"  snapped  Asa  Lemm.  "If 
we  are  not  more  strict,  the  cadets  will  degenerate 
into  nothing  but  rowdies  and  hoodlums." 

"I  think  I  am  the  best  judge  of  how  discipline 
should  be  maintained  in  this  institution,"  re 
sponded  Colonel  Colby,  with  dignity.  "I  will  take 
this  matter  up  in  the  morning  and  do  my  best  to 
sift  it  to  the  bottom.  Now  I  think  we  had  better 
retire,  as  it  is  growing  late,"  and  thereupon  he 
returned  to  his  own  rooms. 

"I  think  that  was  the  best  joke  we  ever 
played,"  remarked  Andy,  when  he  and  the  other 
Rovers  were  dressing  on  the  following  morning. 

"It  sure  did  count  one  against  old  Lemon," 
chuckled  Randy. 

"Yes.  And  to  think  the  way  Slugger  and 
Nappy  were  knocked  over  by  the  goats  too!" 
broke  in  Fred. 

"I'll  bet  they're  mad  over  that,"  observed  Jack. 
"More  than  likely,  it  will  make  them  take  a  hand 


IN  COLONEL  COLBY'S  OFFICE  123 

in  assisting  Lemm  to  find  out  who  was  guilty. 
We'll  have  to  be  on  our  guard  against  them." 

"Did  anybody  see  you  making  off  with  the 
goats  ?"  queried  Randy  suddenly. 

"I  don't  think  so,"  answered  Jack.  But  in  this 
surmise  he  was  mistaken;  one  cadet  had  seen 
Walt  Baxter  hurrying  from  the  school  with  goats' 
harness  under  his  sweater,  and  this  youth  had, 
from  a  safe  distance,  watched  Jack  and  Walt 
place  some  of  the  harness  on  the  goats  and  drive 
them  off  in  the  direction  of  Mike  O'Toole's  farm. 

This  cadet  was  Codfish,  who  was  always  sneak 
ing  around,  trying  to  pick  up  information  that  did 
not  rightly  belong  to  him. 

"Ha,  ha !"  said  the  little  sneak  to  himself,  after 
Walt  and  Jack  had  disappeared.  "Now  I  know 
who  was  responsible  for  bringing  those  goats  into 
the  school." 

At  first  the  sneak  thought  he  would  report  the 
matter  to  either  Asa  Lemm  or  Colonel  Colby,  but 
as  he  was  not  in  particularly  good  favor  with  the 
professor  on  whom  the  joke  had  been  played,  he 
thought  it  might  be  as  well  for  him  to  wait  and 
think  the  matter  over. 

"Maybe  I  had  better  tell  Slugger  and  Nappy 
first  and  see  what  they've  got  to  say  about  it," , 
he  reasoned.    He  went  to  the  bully  and  his  crony 
with  everything. 


124 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 


He  dressed  early,  and  then  went  over  to 
Nappy's  room,  where  he  found  the  cronies  to 
gether,  just  as  he  had  surmised.  They  were  talk 
ing  over  the  affair  of  the  night  before  and  won 
dering  who  could  be  guilty. 

"I've  got  some  news,"  announced  Codfish. 

"What  news?"  demanded  Nappy. 

"It's  very  important,"  went  on  the  little  cadet. 
"If  I  tell  you  will  you  promise  not  to  give  me 
away?" 

"Is  it  about  last  night's  affair,  Cod  ?"  demanded 
Slugger  quickly. 

"Now  look  here,  Slugger!  You  promised  not 
to  call  me  Cod  any  more,"  pleaded  the  sneak. 

"All  right,  Henry.  That  was  merely  a  slip  of 
the  tongue,"  returned  the  bully  good-naturedly. 
He  knew  exactly  how  to  handle  such  a  fellow  as 
Stowell.  "Now  tell  us  what  you've  got  on  your 
mind." 

"Will  you  promise  not  to  give  me  away  ?" 

"Sure!"  came  from  both  of  the  others 
promptly. 

"Well  then,  I  know  who  brought  those  two 
goats  into  the  school  last  night,"  announced  Cod 
fish  proudly ;  and  thereupon,  being  urged  to  do  so 
by  the  others,  he  told  of  what  he  had  seen. 

"I  knew  the  Rovers  were  mixed  up  in  that!" 
cried  Slugger. 


IN  COLONEL  COLBY'S  OFFICE  125 

"And  I've  noticed  that  Walt  Baxter  has 
been  training  with  them.  More  than  likely  it 
was  the  work  of  the  whole  Rover  crowd,"  an 
nounced  Nappy. 

"Don't  you  think  we  ought  to  let  Colonel  Colby 
know  about  this?"  questioned  Codfish  anxiously. 
It  was  his  delight  to  get  other  cadets  into  trouble 
and  see  them  suffer,  but  he  always  wanted  to 
keep  his  own  actions  dark  for  fear  his  school 
mates  might  turn  on  him  and  start  in  to  "square 
up." 

"Of  course  we  ought  to  let  Colonel  Colby  know 
about  this — and  Professor  Lemm  too,"  answered 
Nappy.  "The  question  is,  how  can  we  do  it  with 
out  getting  mixed  up  in  it  ourselves  ?" 

"We  might  send  a  note  to  Colonel  Colby," 
suggested  the  sneak. 

The  matter  was  talked  over  for  several  min 
utes,  and  then  it  was  decided  that  two  notes 
should  be  written  and  one  delivered  to  Colonel 
Colby  and  the  other  to  Asa  Lemm. 

"Who  is  going  to  write  the  notes  ?"  questioned 
Codfish. 

"You  can  do  that,  Henry,"  said  the  bully 
quickly.  He  had  not  forgotten  how  the  anony 
mous  letter  he  had  once  sent  out  had  been  traced 
back  to  him,  in  spite  of  the  disguised  hand 
writing. 


126 

"Oh,  I  couldn't  do  that !"  answered  Stowell  in 
alarm.  And  he  shook  his  head  vigorously. 

"Yes,  you  can!"  broke  in  Nappy.  And  there 
upon,  somewhat  against  his  will,  Codfish  penned 
the  two  notes  in  as  much  of  a  disguised  hand  as 
was  possible  for  him. 

"But  I'm  not  going  to  deliver  the  notes,"  he 
warned  feebly.  "You  two  have  got  to  do  that 
much." 

"All  right,  we  will,"  answered  Slugger.  He 
turned  to  his  crony.  "You  slip  one  of  them  under 
Professor  Lemm's  door,  and  I'll  place  the  other 
on  Colonel  Colby's  desk." 

"All  right,  but  be  careful." 

"Bet  your  life!" 

Asa  Lemm  was  just  finishing  his  morning  toilet 
and  grumbling  over  the  happenings  of  the  night, 
when  he  chanced  to  glance  toward  the  door  of 
his  room,  and  at  that  moment  saw  a  letter  thrust 
under  it.  He  stared  for  an  instant  in  amazement, 
and  then  rushed  forward  and  threw  the  door  wide 
open.  But  his  movement,  quick  as  it  was,  came 
too  late,  for  Nappy  Martell  had  already  slipped 
around  a  corner  and  made  his  escape.  Taking  up 
the  letter,  the  professor  read  the  contents  with 
great  interest  The  communication  ran  as 
follows : 


IN  COLONEL  COLBY'S  OFFICE  127 

"DEAR  PROFESSOR  LEMM  : 

"If  you  want  to  know  more  about  the  trouble 
last  night,  ask  John  Rover  and  Walter  Baxter. 
They  had  the  two  billy  goats.  I  think  you  will 
find  that  all  of  the  Rovers  and  the  boys  who  go 
with  them  were  in  this  joke. 

"Yours  respectfully, 

"One  Who  Knows" 

"So  that's  who  is  guilty !"  muttered  the  teacher, 
after  reading  the  letter  a  second  time.  "The 
Rovers,  eh?  I  might  have  known  it  because  of 
the  trouble  I  have  had  with  them  in  the  class 
room.  And  I  remember  now  that  I  have  also 
had  trouble  with  that  Baxter  boy.  I  must  see 
Colonel  Colby  about  this  at  once." 

The  professor  hurried  downstairs,  and  found 
that  Colonel  Colby  had  entered  his  office  but  a 
few  minutes  before,  and  was  perusing  the  com 
munication  left  there  secretly  by  Slugger 
Brown. 

"I  have  found  out  who  was  guilty  last  night," 
snapped  Asa  Lemm,  as  he  flourished  the  letter  in 
his  hand. 

"Did  you  receive  an  anonymous  communica 
tion  ?"  demanded  the  master  of  the  Hall. 

"I  did,  sir.  But  what  makes  you  ask  that 
question  ?" 


128    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"I  have  such  a  communication  myself,"  and 
Colonel  Colby  indicated  the  epistle. 

"We  must  punish  those  rascals,  sir!" 

"First  I  want  to  find  out  if  there  is  any  truth 
in  these  letters,"  answered  Colonel  Colby.  "Very 
frequently  anonymous  communications  cannot  be 
relied  upon." 

"Oh,  I  haven't  the  least  doubt  but  what  Rover 
and  Baxter  are  guilty!"  exclaimed  Asa  Lemm 
quickly.  "I've  had  trouble  in  the  classroom  with 
them,  and  also  with  the  other  Rovers.  I  should 
not  be  surprised  if  the  whole  crowd  had  some 
thing  to  do  with  it." 

"I  will  send  for  Rover  and  Baxter." 

It  must  be  confessed  that  Jack  was  somewhat 
surprised  when  one  of  the  assistants  came  to  him 
and  told  him  he  was  wanted  immediately  in  the 
office. 

"Gee !  this  looks  bad !"  cried  Randy. 

"Want  any  of  us  to  go  with  you  ?"  questioned 
Fred  quickly. 

"No ;  I  can  face  the  music  alone,"  answered  the 
oldest  Rover  boy. 

He  arrived  at  the  office  just  as  another  assistant 
was  bringing  in  Walt  Baxter.  The  two  ex 
changed  glances,  but  said  nothing.  But  the  glance 
given  Walt  meant,  "Keep  mum,"  and  the  other 
understood  and  nodded  slightly. 


IN  COLONEL  COLBY'S  OFFICE  129 

"So  here  you  are,  eh?"  cried  Asa  Lemm,  before 
Colonel  Colby  had  a  chance  to  say  a  word  "I 
thought  I'd  catch  you!" 

"Excuse  me,  Professor  Lemm,  but  I  wish  you 
would  allow  me  to  conduct  this  examination,"  put 
in  Colonel  Colby  a  trifle  stiffly.  If  the  truth  must 
be  told,  the  overbearing  manner  of  the  teacher 
was  not  any  more  to  the  liking  of  the  master  of 
the  Hall  than  it  was  to  the  cadets.  Yet,  Asa 
Lemm  had  come  well  recommended,  and  Colonel 
Colby  did  not  wish  to  pass  hasty  judgment  on 
him. 

"Yes,  sir,"  returned  the  professor.  "But  please 
remember  I  have  suffered  greatly,  and  I  demand 
satisfaction." 

"I  have  sent  for  you  cadets  in  order  to  clear  up 
the  affair  that  happened  last  night,"  began 
Colonel  Colby,  ignoring  Asa  Lemm's  last  remark. 
"I  have  been  given  to  understand  that  you  were 
the  two  to  bring  those  goats  into  the  Hall.  Am  I 
right?" 

"I  did  not  bring  the  goats  into  the  Hall,"  re 
turned  Walt  Baxter  promptly.  "Just  the  same, 
I  guess  I'm  as  guilty  as  anybody,"  he  added 
quickly,  not  wishing  to  shirk  responsibility. 

"I  was  one  of  the  cadets  who  brought  the 
goats  into  the  Hall,  Colonel  Colby,"  answered 
Jack  promptly. 


130 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 


"Baxter  did  not  assist  in  bringing  them  into 
the  Hall?" 

"No,  sir." 

"But  you  were  not  alone,  Rover?" 

"No,  sir." 

"Who  was  with  you  in  this  escapade?" 

"I  prefer  not  to  answer  that  question,  Colonel 
Colby." 

"Make  him  answer!  Make  him  answer!" 
stormed  Asa  Lemm.  "You  young  rascal!  I'll 
teach  you  to  play  tricks  on  me !"  and  he  shook  his 
fist  in  Jack's  face. 

"Professor  Lemm,  I'll  thank  you  to  be  less 
violent,"  interrupted  Colonel  Colby.  "This  ex 
amination  must  be  held  in  an  orderly  fashion. 
You  say  you  were  not  alone,  Rover.  Will  you 
tell  me  how  many  were  mixed  up  in  this  affair?" 

Jack  thought  for  a  moment.  "Do  you  mean 
the  whole  happening  in  Professor  Lemm's 
room  ?" 

"Yes." 

"Oh,  there  were  eight  or  ten  of  us — maybe 
more.  Of  course,  some  had  more  to  do  with  it 
than  others,"  responded  Jack. 

"Eight  or  ten  of  you!"  gasped  Asa  Lemm. 
"As  many  as  that?"  And  his  face  showed  his 
surprise.  He  had  imagined  that  possibly  only 
the  Rover  boys  and  Walt  Baxter  were  guilty. 


IN  COLONEL  COLBY'S  OFFICE  131 

"Are  you  quite  sure  you  don't  want  to  mention 
any  names,  Rover?"  asked  Colonel  Colby  again. 

"No,  Colonel.  And  if  you  were  in  my  posi 
tion,  I  do  not  think  you  would  want  to  mention 
any  of  them  either,"  added  Jack,  looking  the 
master  of  the  Hall  squarely  in  the  eyes. 

"We  won't  discuss  that  side  of  the  question." 
Colonel  Colby  turned  to  Walt  Baxter.  "How 
about  you?  Do  you  care  to  say  who  was  mixed 
up  in  this  affair?" 

"No,  sir,"  was  the  prompt  response. 

"Make  them  tell !  Make  them  tell !"  exclaimed 
Asa  Lemm.  "Punish  them  severely!  Put  them 
in  the  guardhouse  on  bread  and  water  until  they 
are  willing  to  divulge  the  names  of  all  the  rascals 
who  were  mixed  up  in  these  outrageous  pro 
ceedings." 

"I  am  not  going  to  make  them  tell  if  they  won't 
do  it  on  their  own  account,"  was  Colonel  Colby's 
answer.  As  a  cadet  at  Putnam  Hall,  he  had  never 
had  any  use  for  a  tale  bearer. 

"Then  I'll  take  the  law  in  my  own  hands!" 
cried  Asa  Lemm  vindictively.  "I'll  go  down  to 
Haven  Point  and  make  a  complaint  and  have 
them  both  arrested !" 


CHAPTER  XIII 

ASA  LEMM  IS  DISMISSED 

WHILE  the  examination  of  Jack  and  Walt  was 
taking  place  in  the  office,  the  other  Rovers  and 
their  chums  held  a  meeting  in  Randy's  room. 

"What  do  you  suppose  this  means — calling 
Jack  and  Walt  down  to  the  colonel's  office?"  re 
marked  Fred  anxiously.  He  had  just  been  in 
formed  by  Dan  Soppinger  about  Walt. 

"It  was  Jack  and  Walt  who  took  those  goats 
back.  Maybe  somebody  spotted  them,"  sug 
gested  Spouter. 

The  discussion  lasted  for  some  minutes  and 
grew  quite  warm,  and  then  Andy  leaped  up. 

"I  know  what  I'm  going  to  do !"  he  said.  "I'm 
going  below  and  try  to  find  out  just  what  it 
means." 

"And  so  am  I,"  added  Fred  and  Randy  quickly. 

"We'll  all  stand  by  him,"  announced  Spouter. 
"Of  course,  you  fellows  brought  the  goats  here, 
but  I  think  we  had  as  much  to  do  with  the  rest 
of  It  as  any  of  you." 

132 


ASA  LEMM  IS  DISMISSED  133 

Andy  hurried  off,  and  lost  no  time  in  making 
his  way  to  the  door  of  Colonel  Colby's  private 
office.  The  door  had  been  left  slightly  ajar, 
so  it  was  an  easy  matter  for  him  to  take  in  most 
of  what  was  said. 

"Gracious!  this  certainly  is  growing  serious," 
he  murmured  to  himself,  when  Asa  Lemm  made 
the  declaration  that  he  would  go  down  to  Haven 
Point  and  have  Jack  and  Walt  arrested.  "I  guess 
I  had  better  let  the  others  know  about  it,"  and  he 
scurried  upstairs  again. 

"Oh,  Andy!  do  you  suppose  old  Lemon  will 
really  have  them  locked  up?"  questioned  Fred 
anxiously,  after  being  told  of  what  was  taking 
place  below. 

"I  don't  think  he  would  dare  to  do  it,"  an 
nounced  Spouter. 

"I  move  we  all  go  down  and  take  a  hand  in 
this!"  cried  Gif.  "There  is  no  fairness  in  letting 
Jack  and  Walt  suffer  for  what  we  did." 

Several  other  cadets  had  drifted  in,  those  who 
had  either  been  on  the  watch  while  the  joke  was 
being  prepared  or  who  had  assisted  in  placing 
the  sheets  of  ice  on  the  floor  and  in  the  bed, 
and  all  agreed  that  the  crowd  had  better  stand 
together  when  it  came  to  acknowkdging  what  had 
been  done. 

"Forward  march !"  cried  Gif,  who,  as  a  leader 


134 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 


in  athletics,  took  it  upon  himself  to  manage  the 
affair.  "Come  on  now — and  no  shirking!" 

Braced  up  by  numbers,  all  of  the  cadets  fell  in 
readily  with  this  plan,  and  as  a  consequence  there 
were  ten  boys  led  by  Gif  and  the  Rovers  who 
marched  down  to  the  office. 

"We'll  enter  by  column  of  twos,"  announced 
Gif.  "March  in  in  regular  military  fashion,"  he 
added,  and  then  knocked  upon  'the  office  door. 

Colonel  Colby  was  doing  what  he  could  to 
question  Jack  and  Walt  on  one  hand,  while  trying 
to  make  Asa  Lemm  keep  quiet  on  the  other,  when 
the  others  arrived.  The  master  of  the  Hall  was 
having  no  easy  time  of  it,  because  Professor 
Lemm  seemed  to  be  growing  more  and  more 
excited. 

"I'll  have  the  law  on  them,  I  tell  you!"  he 
cried.  "They  ought  to  go  to  state's  prison  for 
this!" 

"Please  be  quiet  just  a  minute,  Professor," 
remonstrated  Colonel  Colby.  Then  came  the 
knock  on  the  door,  and  the  colonel  flung  it  open, 
not  at  all  pleased  over  the  interruption. 

"Wha — what  does  this  mean?"  gasped  Asa 
Lemm,  as  he  saw  the  double  row  of  cadets  fil 
ing  in. 

"Colonel  Colby,  we  have  come  to  report,"  an 
nounced  Gif,  saluting. 


ASA  LEMM  IS  DISMISSED  135 

"Please  allow  me  to  be  the  spokesman,  Gif," 
pleaded  Randy,  stepping  to  the  front.  And  then, 
before  his  school  chum  could  speak,  he  continued : 
"Colonel  Colby,  we  have  come  to  give  ourselves 
up." 

"Give  yourselves  up!  What  do  you  mean, 
Rover?" 

"We  were  all  in  this  lark  together,  sir." 

"And  if  there  is  to  be  any  punishment  we  want 
to  stand  for  our  share  of  it,"  added  Andy. 

"I  think  we  Rover  boys  were  more  to  blame 
than  the  others,"  put  in  Fred. 

"You  see,  Professor  Lemm  is  down  on  us,  and 
we  thought  we  had  to  do  something  to  get 
square,"  Andy  endeavored  to  explain. 

"He  doesn't  treat  us  fairly  in  the  classroom  1" 
cried  Spouter. 

"If  he  wasn't  here  we'd  get  along  without  any 
trouble  whatever,"  piped  up  a  voice  in  the  rear. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  sudden  entrance 
of  the  ten  cadets,  and  what  they  had  to  say  con 
cerning  the  joke  that  had  been  played,  somewhat 
stumped  the  master  of  the  Hall.  As  for  Asa 
Lemm,  for  the  moment  he  was  dumbfounded; 
but  then  his  natural  antipathy  to  boys  asserted 
itself,  and  he  glared  at  them  viciously. 

"So  you  were  all  in  it,  eh?"  he  snarled.  "I 
might  have  known  as  much.  You  are  all  a  pack 


136    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

of  rowdies!  You  are  not  fit  to  associate  with 
respectable  people !" 

"Professor  Lemm,  I  do  not  wish  you  to  ad 
dress  our  cadets  in  such  a  manner,"  said  Colonel 
Colby  sternly.  "These  young  gentlemen  are  not 
rowdies,  even  though  they  have  played  a  joke 
which  was  not  particularly  nice.  I  do  not  uphold 
them  in  the  least  in  what  they  have  done,  but,  at 
the  same  time,  I  cannot  help  but  remember  that 
they  are  only  boys,  and  that  boys  are  sometimes 
very  thoughtless." 

"Thoughtless!  They  think  too  much!  I  tell 
you,  sir,  they  are  a  pack  of  rowdies,  and  unless 
you  punish  them,  and  punish  them  severely,  I 
shall  take  the  matter  in  my  own  hands  and  have 
them  arrested." 

"If  you  do  anything  of  that  sort,  Professor 
Lemm,  we  will  have  to  dispense  with  your  ser 
vices  in  this  school,"  announced  Colonel  Colby 
flatly.  He  was  growing  weary  of  the  irate  teach 
er's  manner. 

A  strenuous  half  hour  followed,  everybody 
present  forgetting  all  about  roll  call  and  break 
fast.  Colonel  Colby  did  what  he  could  in  ques 
tioning  all  of  the  cadets  regarding  the  occurrences 
of  the  night  before,  but  was  continually  inter 
rupted  by  the  unreasonable  teacher.  Finally  he 
could  stand  it  no  longer,  and  turned  to  the  pro- 


ASA  LEMM  IS  DISMISSED  137 

fessor  with  all  the  dignity  he  could  command. 

"Professor  Lemm,  I  have  stood  enough,"  he 
said  in  a  cold,  hard  voice,  which  instantly  com 
manded  attention.  "I  want  no  more  such  lan 
guage  from  you.  You  may  go  to  your  break 
fast,  and  I  will  conduct  this  examination  alone, 
and  will  see  you  about  it  before  we  begin  the 
day's  session  in  the  school.  And,  in  the  mean 
time,  allow  me  to  impress  upon  you  that  it  is  all 
nonsense  to  talk  about  having  any  of  these  boys 
arrested.  They  have  done  nothing  that  warrants 
arrest,  and  if  you  attempt  anything  of  that  sort, 
you  will  not  only  make  yourself  ridiculous,  but 
you  might  place  yourself  open  to  a  suit  for  dam 
ages.  Now,  please  leave  this  office." 

"I'll  see  about  this!  I'll  see  about  this!" 
snapped  the  unreasonable  teacher,  and  left  the 
office  in  anything  but  a  dignified  fashion. 

As  soon  as  Professor  Lemm  had  gone,  the 
master  of  the  Hall  questioned  the  boys  closely 
concerning,  not  only  the  affair  of  the  night  before, 
but  also  about  the  troubles  they  had  had  with 
the  teacher,  both  in  the  classroom  and  elsewhere. 
This  was  the  first  time  the  boys  had  had  a  chance 
to  "get  one  in  on  old  Lemon,"  as  Andy  after 
wards  declared,  and  they  did  not  mince  matters 
in  telling  of  the  many  trials  and  tribulations 
which  Asa  Lemm  had  caused  them.  It  is  barely 


138    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

possible  that  some  of  the  complaints  were  over 
drawn,  yet  there  was  such  a  unanimity  of  opinion 
concerning  Professor  Lemm's  harshness  that 
Colonel  Colby  was  quite  impressed. 

"Now  I  want  to  ask  you  boys  a  question,  and 
I  want  you  to  answer  it  honestly,"  said  Colonel 
Colby  toward  the  close  of  the  examination. 
"Would  you  have  played  such  a  trick  as  this  upon 
any  of  the  other  professors?" 

"I  wouldn't,"  answered  Randy  quickly. 

"Nor  I,"  came  from  Fred  and  Andy. 

"I'd  never  dream  of  playing  such  a  trick  on 
anybody  but  a  man  like  Professor  Lemm,"  an 
nounced  Jack.  The  others  also  agreed  that  it  was 
not  likely  any  such  joke  would  have  been  played 
on  anybody  else  in  the  Hall. 

"Then,  evidently,  none  of  you  likes  Professor 
Lemm,"  said  Colonel  Colby  slowly. 

To  this  there  was  no  reply,  but  the  look  on 
the  faces  of  the  various  cadets  showed  the  master 
of  the  Hall  that  he  had  struck  the  truth. 

"Now  I'm  going  to  ask  you  boys  another  ques 
tion,"  he  went  on,  after  a  pause,  and  there  was  a 
faint  smile  on  his  face  when  he  spoke.  "Don't 
you  think  you  ought  to  be  punished  for  what  you 
have  done?" 

For  a  moment  there  was  another  silence.  Then 
Jack  spoke  up. 


ASA  LEMM  IS  DISMISSED  139 

"In  one  way,  yes,  sir;  but  in  another,  no,"  he 
replied.  "Professor  Lemm  treated  us  very  un 
justly  in  the  classroom  in  making  us  stay  in  and 
making  us  do  extra  lessons,  and  we  didn't  know 
of  any  other  way  to  get  square  with  him." 

"Looks  to  me  as  if  we  got  our  punishment  be 
fore  we  played  the  joke,"  said  Andy,  and  this 
reply  made  some  of  the  cadets  grin. 

Colonel  Colby  looked  out  of  the  window,  which 
faced  the  snow-covered  campus.  Although  the 
boys  did  not  know  it,  he  hardly  knew  what  to  say 
or  do.  He  realized  that  he  could  not  pass  over 
the  occurrence  without  punishing  the  lads,  and 
yet  he  could  see  their  point  of  view — that  Asa 
Lemm  had  been  the  first  at  fault  in  not  treating 
them  fairly  during  classes. 

"Order  has  got  to  be  maintained  in  this  school," 
he  said  finally,  as  he  faced  them.  "If  we  did  not 
have  order,  the  whole  institution  would  go  to 
pieces.  That  is  my  first  point.  My  second  is  that 
two  Wrongs  have  never  yet  made  a  Right,  and 
instead  of  taking  matters  into  your  own  hands, 
as  you  did,  after  having  trouble  with  Professor 
Lemm,  you  should  have  come  to  me  and  told  me 
what  was  wrong. 

"I  shall  take  this  matter  up  later,  after  I  have 
had  an  opportunity  to  make  further  inquiries  con 
cerning  your  conduct.  In  the  meantime,  you  may 


I40    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

go  to  breakfast,  and  then  to  your  classes;"  and 
thus  he  dismissed  them. 

Of  course,  as  soon  as  the  boys  were  by  them 
selves,  they  began  to  discuss  the  situation  from 
every  possible  angle.  Several  wanted  to  know 
how  it  was  that  the  master  of  the  Hall  had 
learned  that  Jack  and  Walt  were  guilty. 

"Somebody  sent  Colonel  Colby  a  note  about 
us.  I  saw  it  on  his  desk,"  answered  Jack. 

"Yes,  and  Asa  Lemm  had  another  note  just 
like  it,"  added  Walt.  "Some  sneak  in  this  school 
must  have  watched  us,  and  then  sent  the  notes." 

Much  to  the  cadets'  relief,  they  did  not  see 
Asa  Lemm  in  the  messroom.  Nor  did  the  lan 
guage  teacher  show  himself  during  the  morning 
session. 

"Perhaps  he's  having  another  talk  with  Colonel 
Colby,"  suggested  Fred. 

The  youngest  Rover  was  right.  The  unreason 
able  teacher  was  closeted  with  the  master  of  the 
Hall  for  over  an  hour,  and  during  that  time  much 
of  what  had  been  told  by  the  cadets  was  threshed 
over.  Asa  Lemm  was  as  unreasonable  as  ever, 
and  finally  Colonel  Colby  lost  all  patience  with 
him. 

"I  am  afraid,  Professor  Lemm,  that  you  are 
not  suited  to  be  a  teacher  in  this  institution,"  he 
said.  "Your  actions  here  show  that  you  are  very 


ASA  LEMM  IS  DISMISSED 


141 


irritable  and  unreasonable.  After  you  left  this 
office,  I  questioned  all  of  those  cadets  closely,  and 
all  had  practically  the  same  story  to  tell ;  namely, 
that  you  had  required  more  than  was  fair  of 
them  in  your  classes,  and  that,  on  the  slightest 
pretext,  you  had  punished  them  by  making  them 
stay  in  and  do  extra  lessons.  I  went  into  many  of 
the  details,  and  I  am  convinced  that  in  a  good  pro 
portion  of  the  cases  the  students  were  right  and 
you  were  wrong.  Now,  I  regret  this  very  much, 
because  I  realize  that " 

"Sir,  I  don't  want  to  be  talked  to  in  this 
fashion !"  cried  Asa  Lemm,  bridling  up.  "I  was 
not  in  the  wrong  at  all.  Those  boys  are  regular 
imps!  They  don't  know  how  to  treat  a  teacher 
decently!  I  won't  stand  for  their  nonsense!  I 
want  them  severely  punished,  or  else " 

"Wait  a  moment,  Professor  Lemm,"  inter 
rupted  the  colonel,  rising  and  facing  him  sternly. 
"I  said  I  was  sorry,  and  I  am ;  but  I  feel  that  you 
are  not  the  man  to  teach  in  this  institution,  and 
consequently  I  must  ask  you  for  your  resignation. 
I  will  pay  you  your  salary  up  to  the  first  of  next 
month,  and  you  can  leave  this  school  just  as  soon 
as  you  desire." 

"Wha— what?  This!  to  me?"  ejaculated  the 
professor  in  consternation. 

"Yes,   sir.     You   can  draw  your  pay,    and, 


I42    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

if    you    wish,    you    can    leave    this    morning." 

"But — but — this  is  outrageous !  I  won't  stand 
it !  I  was  hired  for  the  school  year !" 

"You  were — on  condition  that  your  services 
were  entirely  satisfactory  to  me.  They  are  not 
satisfactory,  and  consequently  I  am  giving  you 
this  opportunity  to  resign." 

"If  I  have  to  leave,  I'll  have  those  boys  ar 
rested  !"  stormed  Asa  Lemm. 

"I  don't  think  I'd  be  so  foolish,  if  I  were  in 
your  place,  Professor.  What  they  did  was  noth 
ing  but  a  foolish  schoolboy  joke,  and  they  did 
that  simply  to  get  square  with  you  for  your  un 
reasonable  conduct  toward  them.  I  think  the  best 
you  can  do  is  to  drop  the  matter.  If  you  insist 
on  dragging  this  affair  before  the  public,  perhaps 
the  boys,  and  I,  myself,  will  have  something  to 
say  that  you  will  not  care  to  hear." 

"We'll  see — we'll  see !"  cried  Asa  Lemm,  shak 
ing  his  head  and  with  his  eyes  blazing  wrathfully. 
"We'll  see  about  this!"  and  thus  speaking,  he 
stamped  away. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


"PROFESSOR  LEMM  has  left  Colby  Hall!" 

"What  do  you  mean,  Jack?  Left  the  Hall  for 
good?" 

"Yes,  Randy." 

"Who  told  you  that?"  questioned  Fred  eagerly. 

"I  just  got  it  from  Professor  Brice.  He  said 
that  old  Lemon  resigned,  took  his  pay,  and 
left  yesterday  afternoon  while  we  were  in 
classes." 

"Hurrah !  that's  the  best  news  I've  heard  in  a 
year  of  Sundays !"  cried  Andy.  "Gone  for  good* 
Just  think  of  it!"  and,  in  high  spirits,  he  began 
to  do  a  jig,  and  ended  with  a  handspring  across 
the  room,  landing  with  a  violent  thump  on  the 
bed. 

"Hi,  you,  Andy!"  remonstrated  Jack.  "Just 
because  you  are  happy  is  no  reason  you  should 
bust  up  my  sleeping  place." 

"Wow!  I  feel  fine  enough  to  do  almost  any 
thing,"  returned  the  fun-loving  Rover.  "Just  to 

143 


144    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

think  of  it !  We  won't  be  worried  by  Asa  Lemm 
any  more!" 

"Don't  you  be  too  sure  of  that,"  went  on  his 
cousin.  "Asa  Lemm  is  gone,  it  is  true;  but  we 
may  hear  from  him,  nevertheless.  When  he  went 
away  he  was  an  angry  as  ever,  so  Professor  Brice 
said." 

As  was  usual,  the  Rovers  had  congregated  in 
their  rooms,  along  with  several  of  their  chums. 
Outside  it  was  snowing  once  again,  the  soft  par 
ticles  whirling  in  all  directions  and  clinging  fast 
to  the  window  panes.  It  was  the  off  hour  of  the 
afternoon,  but  none  of  the  lads  had  cared  to  go 
outside,  or  even  visit  the  school  library. 

The  news  that  Asa  Lemm  had  left  the  Hall  was 
true.  Following  his  heated  interview  with 
Colonel  Colby,  he  had  written  out  his  resignation, 
accepted  his  pay  for  the  month,  packed  his  bag 
gage,  and  left  the  school,  never  to  return.  Only 
several  of  the  teachers  and  the  man  who  had 
driven  him  away  had  seen  him  go;  and  this  was 
as  Colonel  Colby  wished  it,  for  he  was  afraid 
that  if  the  cadets  were  present  at  the  disliked 
teacher's  departure,  they  would  make  some  sort  of 
demonstration  against  him. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  Colonel  Colby  had  said 
nothing  further  about  punishing  the  cadets.  Evi 
dently  he  had  taken  their  word  for  it  that  they 


OVERHEARING  A  PLOT  145 

would  not  have  played  the  trick  on  any  other 
teacher  in  the  school,  and  possibly  he  remembered 
what  Andy  had  said  to  the  effect  that  the  boys 
had  been  punished  beforehand  for  what  had  been 
done.  A  few  of  the  lads  were  afraid  that  the 
matter  might  be  taken  up  later,  but  the  majority 
had  reached  the  conclusion  that  they  would  hear 
no  more  concerning  it. 

"It's  too  bad  it's  snowing,"  said  Jack,  after  he 
and  the  others  had  tired  of  speaking  about  the 
departed  teacher.  "I  had  an  idea  we  would  be 
able  to  get  in  some  fine  skating  before  we  left  for 
the  Christmas  holidays." 

The  Rover  boys  had  not  forgotten  the  fact 
that  both  Asa  Lemm  and  Colonel  Colby  had  re 
ceived  notes  concerning  the  joke  that  had  been 
played.  They  remembered  well  how  Slugger 
Brown,  as  related  in  a  previous  volume,  had  sent 
an  anonymous  communication  to  Elias  Lacy,  ac 
cusing  them  of  having  shot  the  old  farmer's 
cows. 

"If  Slugger  was  mean  enough  to  send  that  let 
ter,  he'd  be  mean  enough  to  send  these  notes," 
was  the  way  Jack  put  it. 

"I  wish  we  could  see  one  or  both  of  the  letters," 
remarked  Randy.  "We  could  very  quickly  tell  if 
they  were  «n  Slugger's  handwriting,  or  Nappy's 
either." 


I46    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Oh,  you  can  bet  they'd  disguise  their  hand 
writing  as  much  as  possible,"  said  Fred. 

The  snow  continued  the  next  day,  and  it  was 
so  windy  and  unpleasant  outdoors  that  the  bat 
talion  had  to  dispense  with  its  outdoor  parade  and 
spend  that  time  in  a  drill  in  the  gymnasium. 
After  this  was  over  the  Rovers  and  some  of  their 
chums  amused  themselves  on  the  bars,  swinging 
rings,  and  with  the  exercising  machines  the  gym 
nasium  afforded. 

The  boys  were  doing  all  sorts  of  stunts,  wheit 
suddenly  Fred  called  Randy  to  one  side. 

"Come  on  with  me,"  he  said  in  a  low  voice. 
"I  think  I've  discovered  something." 

His  manner  showed  that  he  had  something  un 
usual  on  his  mind,  and  Randy  lost  no  time  in 
doing  as  was  bidden.  The  two  cousins  hurried 
to  a  corner  of  the  gymnasium,  and  then  Fred 
led  the  way  up  a  narrow  stairway,  which  opened 
up  on  the  second  floor  of  the  building,  a  place 
which  was  heated,  but  seldom  used  by  the  ma- 
jority  of  the  cadets.  It  was,«*iS^d  more  as  a  store 
room,  and  contained  a  lot  of  disused  gymnasium 
paraphernalia  and  boxes  and  barrels. 

"What's  going  on  up  here  ?"  questioned  Randy, 
when  his  cousin  placed  a  hand  over  his  mouth. 

"I  just  saw  Slugger  and  Nappy  come  up  here 
with  Codfish,"  whispered  Fred.  "And  those  three 


OVERHEARING  A  PLOT  147 

wouldn't  come  to  such  an  out-of-the-way  place 
if  there  wasn't  something  in  the  wind." 

"You're  right  there,  Fred,"  was  the  equally 
low  reply.  "When  those  three  get  together  on 
'the  sly  there  is  generally  something  brewing." 

Before  emerging  on  the  second  floor  of  the 
gymnasium,  they  looked  around  cautiously.  At 
the  far  end,  near  a  steam  radiator,  they  saw 
Slugger  and  Nappy  seated  on  a  couple  of  boxes, 
while  Codfish  rested  on  the  top  of  an  old  nail 
keg.  The  two  older  boys  were  puffing  away  at 
cigarettes,  something  that  was  against  the  school 
rules. 

"Might  as  well  have  a  cigarette,  Henry," 
Slugger  was  saying  good-naturedly,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  holding  out  a  box. 

"I— I  don't  think  I  will,"  answered  Codfish. 

"Oh,  go  ahead.  It  will  make  a  man  of  you," 
put  in  Nappy ;  and,  somewhat  against  his  will,  the 
small  cadet  took  a  cigarette  and  lit  it. 

While  this  was  going  on,  Fred  and  Randy  had 
managed  to  step  from  the  top  of  the  stairs  to 
where  a  number  of  boxes  were  piled  up.  They 
moved  along  cautiously,  and  soon  got  to  within 
a  few  feet  of  where  the  other  three  cadets  were 
seated,  without  being  noticed. 

"Now,  then,  let's  come  to  business !"  remarked 
Slugger,  after  puffing  away  at  a  cigarette  for  a 


I48    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

moment.  He  blew  a  cloud  of  smoke  to  the  ceil 
ing.  "I  think  now  is  a  dandy  time  to  get  square 
with  those  Rovers." 

"But  you  want  to  be  careful — they  are  awful 
sly,"  said  Codfish. 

"I  think  you  are  mistaken,  Henry.  They  didn't 
find  out  about  those  notes,"  and  the  bully 
chuckled. 

"Just  the  same,  Slug,  I  think  we  ought  to  take 
Cod's  advice  and  be  careful,"  broke  in  Nappy, 
lighting  a  fresh  cigarette.  "I  have  a  hunch  that 
the  Rovers  are  watching  us  like  a  cat  watches 
mice." 

"Maybe  they  are.  But  I  guess  we  know  how 
to  fool  them,"  went  on  the  bully  swaggeringly. 
"And  now  is  just  our  chance  to  get  them  into  a 
hole." 

"Explain,  please." 

"It's  just  like  this,  Nappy.  Of  course,  they 
haven't  admitted  it,  but  you  know  just  as  well  as 
I  do  that  Colonel  Colby  must  have  punished  them 
pretty  severely  for  the  trick  they  played  on  Lemm. 
What  he  did  to  them,  we  don't  know,  but  prob 
ably  he  has  given  'em  some  extra  lessons  to  do, 
and  maybe  he's  punished  'em  in  other  ways." 

"Oh,  sure !  he  must  have  punished  them  some 
how." 

"I  haven't  seen  any  of  them  going  down  to 


OVERHEARING  A  PLOT  149 

town  since  it  happened,"  put  in  Codfish.  "Maybe 
Colonel  Colby  made  them  promise  to  stay  within 
bounds." 

"Perhaps.  Well,  as  I  was  saying,  being  pun 
ished,  they,  of  course,  are  pretty  sore  on  the 
colonel.  Now  then,  if  we  can  only  play  some 
dirty  trick  on  Colonel  Colby  and  make  it  appear 
as  if  the  Rovers  and  their  crowd  did  it,  they'll 
sure  get  into  hot  water  over  it." 

"I'm  willing  to  do  anything  to  square  up  with 
those  fellows,"  grumbled  Nappy.  He  paused  for 
a  moment  to  puff  away  at  his  cigarette.  "What 
do  you  propose  doing?" 

"That,  of  course,  is  something  we'll  have  to 
figure  out.  We'll  want  to  be  careful,  so  as  not 
to  get  our  own  fingers  burnt." 

"I'll  tell  you  what  you  might  do!"  broke  in 
Codfish  eagerly.  "You  might  drop  ashes  all  over 
Colonel  Colby's  office  and  his  bedroom,  and  then 
leave  some  of  the  ashes  in  a  box  in  the  Rovers' 
rooms,  and  somebody  might  say  something  about 
having  seen  Jack  Rover  getting  the  ashes  from  the 
boiler-room." 

"That's  good  as  far  as  it  goes,  Henry,  but  it 
isn't  quite  strong  enough,"  returned  Slugger. 
"We  ought  to  do  something  that  will  make 
Colonel  Colby  hopping  mad." 

"I'll  tell  you  what  let's  do !"  broke  out  Nappy. 


150    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"We'll  use  the  ashes,  and  we'll  use  some  other 
things  too.  I  was  down  past  the  kitchen  a  while 
ago,  and  I  heard  one  of  the  cooks  complaining 
about  some  of  the  canned  tomatoes  which  were 
all  spoiled  and  he  was  going  to  throw  out.  Now, 
suppose  we  use  some  of  those  spoiled  tomatoes 
with  the  ashes,  and  maybe  a  quart  or  two  of  ink. 
How  about  it?" 

"Great!"  exclaimed  Slugger.  "Ashes,  ink  and 
decayed  tomatoes  will  make  one  fine  combination, 
believe  me!" 

"Oh,  you  want  to  be  very  careful,"  remarked 
Codfish,  his  voice  shaking  a  little.  "The  ink  will 
be  sure  to  spoil  some  things,  not  to  mention  the 
bad  tomatoes." 

"Well,  we  want  to  spoil  something,"  returned 
Slugger.  "We  want  to  get  Colonel  Colby  real 
mad.  Maybe  then  he'll  send  the  Rovers  home." 

"How  soon  do  you  suppose  we  can  play  this 
joke?"  questioned  Nappy,  while  Slugger  lit  a 
fresh  cigarette. 

"Perhaps  we  can  play  it  very  soon.  We'll 
have  to  watch  our  chance,"  was  the  answer. 
Slugger  held  out  his  box  of  cigarettes  to  Codfish. 
"Here,  Henry,  have  another." 

"N-n-no,  th-thank  you,"  stammered  the  sneak. 
"I — I  do — don't  care  to  smoke  any  more.  It — 
it  makes  my  head  dizzy." 


OVERHEARING  A  PLOT  i$i 

"Oh,  you'll  soon  get  over  that.  Come  on,  be 
a  real  man  and  smoke  up!"  urged  Slugger;  and 
much  against  his  will  poor  Codfish  lit  a  second 
cigarette,  he  having  dropped  the  other  behind 
the  nail  keg. 

This  talk  was  followed  by  an  animated  discus 
sion  between  Slugger  and  Nappy  as  to  just  how 
the  proposed  trick  might  be  played.  Codfish  said 
but  little.  He  was  growing  pale,  and  at  the 
first  chance  threw  away  the  second  cigarette. 

Of  course  Fred  and  Randy  had  listened  to 
every  word  that  was  said.  Ordinarily,  the  Rovers 
did  not  favor  playing  the  part  of  eavesdroppers, 
but  just  now  they  thought  they  were  amply  jus 
tified  in  listening  to  everything  that  their  enemies 
might  have  to  say. 

"They  are  a  fine  bunch  if  ever  there  was  one !" 
whispered  Randy. 

"Come  on  away ;  I  guess  we've  heard  enough," 
answered  his  cousin.  "The  best  thing  we  can  do 
is  to  report  to  Jack  and  Andy,  and  then  make  up 
our  minds  what  we  are  going  to  do  next" 


CHAPTER  XV 

AN  ALARM  OF  FIRE 

WITH  great  care,  so  as  not  to  make  any  noise, 
the  two  Rover  boys  tiptoed  their  way  back  be 
hind  the  boxes  and  barrels  until  they  reached  the 
narrow  stairway. 

"Come  on!  But  don't  make  a  bit  of  noise/' 
said  Randy  quickly,  and  went  down  the  stairs  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  with  Fred  at  his  heels.  Reach 
ing  the  lower  floor  of  the  gymnasium,  they  shut 
the  door,  and  then  lost  no  time  in  mixing  with 
the  other  Rovers  and  their  chums  at  the  far  end 
of  the  building. 

"Where  have  you  fellows  been?'*  questioned 
Jack,  who  had  suddenly  noticed  their  absence. 

"I'll  tell  you  later,"  said  Fred. 

"Now,  don't  say  a  word  more  about  our  being 
away — especially  if  Slugger  and  Nappy  and  Cod 
fish  come  this  way.  Act  just  as  if  we  had  been 
here  right  along." 

"I  get  you,  Randy,"  said  Jack;  and  a  minute 
later,  as  the  others  who  had  been  mentioned  came 

152 


AN  ALARM    OF   FIRE 


153 


into  sight,  he  continued  in  a  loud  voice:  "Go 
ahead,  Randy,  it's  your  turn.  Have  you  been 
asleep?" 

"No;  I'm  not  asleep,"  answered  Randy,  and 
caught  a  ball  which  was  being  pitched  around. 

Fred  began  to  practise  on  an  exercising  ma 
chine,  and  acted  as  if  he  had  been  at  it  for  some 
time. 

Soon  Slugger,  Nappy  and  Codfish  came  down 
and  passed  the  crowd,  eyeing  all  of  them  closely. 
Then  Slugger  winked  to  the  others,  and  the  three 
made  their  way  slowly  from  the  gymnasium 
building. 

"Now  then,  I'll  tell  you  fellows  something," 
announced  Fred ;  and  thereupon  he  and  his  cousin 
related  to  the  others  what  they  had  overheard 
in  the  upper  room  of  the  building. 

"So  that's  their  game,  is  it?"  cried  Jack  wrath- 
fully.  "That's  the  way  they  are  going  to  pay  us 
back  for  agreeing  to  give  them  another  chance  at 
this  school !" 

"You  ought  to  tell  Colonel  Colby  about  this  at 
once,"  put  in  Spouter,  who  had  listened  to  what 
was  being  said.  "Then  he  can  have  those  rascals 
watched." 

"I  don't  like  the  idea  of  going  to  Colonel 
Colby,"  Jack  answered.  "I  feel  more  like  taking 
the  matter  in  my  own  hands." 


154 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 


"Don't  you  do  it,  Jack,"  advised  Gif.  "Your 
idea  would  be  all  well  enough  if  they  were  ordi 
nary  cadets.  But  they  are  not.  They  should 
have  been  dismissed  from  this  school  long  ago. 
If  I  were  you,  I  wouldn't  dirty  my  hands  on  them. 
Report  the  matter  to  the  colonel,  and  let  him  take 
charge  of  it." 

"What  is  this  you  are  saying,  Garrison?"  de 
manded  a  voice  from  close  behind  the  cadets, 
and  Professor  Brice  appeared  in  the  doorway  of 
the  washroom  of  the  gymnasium.  "What  is  this 
you  just  said  about  Brown  and  Martell?" 

"I  said  they  were  not  fit  to  be  cadets  in  this 
institution,"  answered  Gif  flatly. 

"From  what  you  young  gentlemen  have  been 
saying,  I  should  judge  that  you  know  something 
concerning  Brown  and  Martell,"  went  on  the 
young  teacher,  with  a  glance  around  the  crowd. 

"We  do  know  something,"  answered  Walt, 
after  a  somewhat  painful  silence.  "That  is,  two 
of  the  crowd  here  know.  We  have  been  urging 
them  to  speak  to  Colonel  Colby  about  it." 

"Who  are  the  two,  and  what  do  you  know  ?" 

Again  there  was  a  silence,  and  then  Spouter 
came  to  the  front. 

"Professor  Brice,  I'd  like  to  ask  a  question," 
he  said.  "Two  of  the  cadets  here  overheard  a 
talk  between  Brown,  Martell  and  StowelL  Those 


AN   ALARM   OF   FIRE  155 

three  proposed  to  play  a  most  outrageous  trick 
on  Colonel  Colby,  and  then  make  it  appear  as  if 
that  trick  had  been  played  by  some  other  cadets. 
In  fact,  they  were  going  to  make  all  the  evidence 
point  to  those  other  cadets.  Now,  do  you  think 
those  cadets  ought  to  defend  themselves  by  tell 
ing  Colonel  Colby  all  they  know  ?  They  feel  that 
they  don't  want  to  be  tale  bearers." 

"If  the  trick  was  to  be  played  solely  to  injure 
their  reputation,  they  certainly  ought  to  expose  it," 
was  the  teacher's  quick  response.  "It  is  one  thing 
to  tell  on  another  person  just  for  the  sake  of  tell 
ing,  and  it  is  quite  a  different  thing  to  defend 
one's  own  reputation." 

Following  this  there  was  quite  a  discussion,  but 
in  the  end  Professor  Brice  convinced  the  Rovers 
that  they  had  better  tell  the  particulars  of  what 
they  had  overheard.  He  listened  to  their  story 
with  close  attention. 

"This  is  certainly  worthy  of  an  investigation," 
he  said,  after  they  had  finished.  "I'll  tell  Colonel 
Colby  about  it,  and  maybe  he  will  send  for  you. 
If  he  does  so,  kindly  take  my  advice  and  see  to 
it  that  when  you  come  to  the  colonel's  office  you 
are  not  watched  by  Brown,  Martell  and  Stowell, 
or  that  may  spoil  everything.  I  think  that  the 
colonel  will  agree  with  me  that  the  thing  to  do  is 
to  catch  those  fellows  red-handed." 


156    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"All  right,  Professor,  we'll  leave  everything  in 
your  hands,"  answered  Fred.  Even  yet  he  did  not 
feel  just  right  over  what  had  been  done.  He  still 
felt  that  he  and  his  cousins  should  have  settled 
affairs  privately  with  Slugger  Brown  and  his  cro 
nies,  even  if  it  had  been  a  matter  of  fist  fights. 

The  young  professor  lost  no  time  in  going  to 
Colonel  Colby.  He  found  the  master  of  the  Hall 
in  his  study  looking  over  the  questions  which  were 
to  be  used  in  the  coming  examination. 

"I  am  sorry  to  report  more  trouble,  sir,"  he  an 
nounced,  and,  sitting  down,  he  gave  Colonel  Colby 
a  rapid  sketch  of  what  had  taken  place  at  the  gym 
nasium. 

"Too  bad !  too  bad !"  and  the  master  of  the  Hall 
showed  his  disappointment.  He  heaved  a  sigh. 
"It  looks  to  me,  Brice,  as  if  I  had  made  a  mistake 
in  giving  Brown  and  Martell  another  chance." 

"Just  what  I  was  thinking,  sir,"  returned  the 
young  teacher. 

"You  say  the  Rovers  did  not  wish  to  report  the 
matter?" 

"That's  it,  sir.  I  had  to  fairly  drag  the  story 
out  of  them.  They  did  not  want  to  have  the  repu 
tation  of  tale  bearers." 

"I  think  I  understand  their  view  of  it,  Brice. 
At  the  same  time,  this  is  too  serious  a  matter  to 
allow  them  to  settle  it  between  themselves.  I 


AN  ALARM    OF  FIRE  157 

think  the  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  have  those 
three  cadets  watched  closely,  to  see  if  they  really 
intend  to  carry  out  their  nefarious  plot." 

"Exactly  what  I  was  thinking,  Colonel  Colby." 

"First,  however,  you  may  send  Randy  Rover 
and  his  Cousin  Fred  to  me.  I  want  to  question 
them,  so  as  to  make  sure  of  my  ground." 

Expecting  this  call,  Randy  and  Fred  kept 
themselves  in  readiness,  and  as  soon  as  Profes 
sor  Brice  came  for  them  they  hurried  off  to  the 
office,  taking  care  that  none  of  their  enemies 
should  see  them.  Slugger,  Nappy  and  Codfish, 
however,  were  out  of  sight,  having  gone  upstairs 
to  their  rooms. 

"Now,  I  want  you  to  tell  me  exactly  what  was 
said,"  announced  Colonel  Colby,  as  soon  as  the 
two  cadets  appeared. 

They  had  their  story  well  in  mind,  and  it  did 
not  take  long  to  give  the  master  of  the  Hall  all  of 
the  details.  In  the  midst  of  the  conversation, 
Fred  let  drop  accidentally  that  the  three  unworthy 
cadets  had  been  smoking. 

"They  were  smoking?"  interrupted  the  colonel. 

"Yes,  sir.  But — I — I— didn't  mean  to  mention 
that,"  stammered  Fred. 

"What  were  they  smoking,  Rover?" 

"Cigarettes." 

"All  of  them?" 


158    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Yes,  sir.  Although,  to  tell  the  truth,  Codfish 
— I  mean  Stowell — didn't  seem  to  want  to  smoke, 
but  Slugger — that  is,  Brown — urged  him,  so  that 
he  didn't  know  how  to  get  out  of  it.  I  guess  the 
cigarette  made  him  sick." 

"I  see."  Colonel  Colby  nodded  his  head 
slowly.  "Now  go  on;"  and  then  the  story  of 
what  had  been  overheard  in  the  upper  room  of 
the  gymnasium  was  finished. 

"It's  an  outrage !  an  outrage !  if  what  you  say 
is  true;  and  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  your 
word,"  went  on  the  master  of  the  Hall,  after 
the  cadets  had  finished.  "I  am  sorry  now  that  I 
gave  Brown  and  Martell  this  chance  to  return  to 
our  school." 

To  this  neither  of  the  Rovers  made  any  reply. 
For  an  instant  both  of  them  thought  of  the  trick 
they  had  played  on  Asa  Lemm.  Colonel  Colby 
seemed  to  follow  their  thought. 

"Your  trick  and  this  thing  are  two  entirely  dif 
ferent  affairs,"  continued  the  colonel.  "In  the 
one  case,  you,  in  your  boyish  fashion,  tried  to 
square  up  for  the  way  you  had  been  mistreated. 
In  this  case,  however,  these  cadets  are  trying  to 
get  you  into  trouble,  and  if  this  trick  had  suc 
ceeded,  it  is  just  possible  that  I  might  have  been 
angry  enough  to  send  you  and  the  rest  of  your 
family  home." 


AN  ALARM   OF  FIRE  159 

"Well,  don't  send  Brown  and  Martell  home 
on  our  account,"  announced  Randy.  "We  are 
wot  afraid  of  them." 

"That  may  be,  Rover.  But  I  cannot  have  such 
underhand  work  at  this  school.  Now  I  want  you 
cadets  to  do  me  a  favor.  I  want  you  to  act  ex 
actly  as  if  nothing  out  of  the  ordinary  had  oc-. 
curred.  I  want  you  to  tell  all  of  the  others  to 
keep  quiet  about  this.  I  want  to  set  a  trap,  and  if 
possible  catch  those  rascals  in  the  midst  of  their 
work.  Do  you  understand  ?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  came  from  both  of  the  cadets. 

"Then  that  is  all." 

Allowed  to  leave  the  office,  Randy  and  Fred 
lost  no  time  in  hunting  up  the  others,  who  had 
gone  upstairs  to  the  Rover  boys'  rooms.  On  the 
way,  they  met  Walt,  Spouter  and  Gif,  and  told 
these  cadets  to  come  along.  Then  they  closed 
the  door  to  the  hallway. 

"It's  to  be  kept  a  secret,"  announced  Randy. 

In  subdued  voices,  so  that  no  one  passing  in 
the  hallway  might  hear  them,  the  Rovers  and 
their  chums  discussed  the  situation.  They  were 
in  the  midst  of  this  when  they  suddenly  heard  a 
wild  cry  of  alarm.  Then  came  a  rush  of  foot 
steps,  and  less  than  a  minute  later  the  loud  clang 
ing  of  a  bell. 

"Hello!  what's  that?"  exclaimed  Jack. 


160    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Something  is  wrong — that's  sure !"  announced 
Randy. 

"What's  the  bell  ringing  for?"  queried  Fred. 
"It  isn't  time  for  parade  yet." 

"That  isn't  the  parade  bell!"  ejaculated  Gif. 
"That's  the  fire  bell !  There  must  be  a  fire !" 

The  boys  flung  open  the  doors,  and  ran  hast 
ily  into  the  hallway.  Cadets  were  pouring  forth 
from  every  quarter,  and  there  was  a  tremendous 
excitement. 

"Is  the  building  on  fire?" 

"Take  it  easy,  boys!  Take  it  easy!"  yelled 
Major  Ralph  Mason,  as  he  appeared  at  the  head 
of  one  of  the  stairways.  "There  is  no  fire  in  this 
building.  Don't  get  excited." 

"Where  is  the  fire  ?"  queried  a  dozen  voices  in 
chorus. 

"It's  down  at  the  gym !  The  upper  floor  is  in 
flames!" 


CHAPTER  XVI 

PUTTING   OUT  THE   FLAMES 

"WHAT  do  you  know  about  that !  The  gym  is 
on  fire !"  gasped  Fred,  and  clutched  Randy  by  the 
arm.  He  looked  at  his  cousin  knowingly. 

"I  know  what  you're  thinking,  Fred.  Those 
cigarettes  that  Slugger,  Nappy  and  Codfish  were 
smoking " 

"That's  it !  They  threw  them  down  recklessly, 
and  also  threw  down  the  matches  they  had 
lighted." 

"If  the  gym  burns  down  Colonel  Colby  will 
hold  them  responsible  for  the  loss,"  put  in  Jack, 
who  had  heard  what  was  said. 

While  this  talk  was  taking  place,  all  of  the 
cadets  were  rushing  down  the  stairs.  Soon  they 
were  out  on  the  campus  and  headed  through  the 
fast-falling  snow  in  the  direction  of  the  gym 
nasium  building. 

A  heavy  smoke  was  pouring  from  a  broken- 
out  upper  window,  and  also  from  the  edges  of  a 
scuttle  on  the  roof.  As  the  cadets  hurried  closer, 

i6z 


162    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

they  saw  a  thin  flame  show  itself  for  a  moment 
just  inside  the  window. 

"It's  on  fire  all  right  enough,  but  maybe  they 
can  get  it  under  control,"  announced  Jack. 
"Come  on,  fellows !  Do  your  duty !" 

Warned  by  the  fate  which  had  overtaken  Put 
nam  Hall,  Colonel  Colby  had  taken  every  pos 
sible  precaution  against  fire.  There  were  several 
large  water  towers  erected  in  and  near  the  school 
buildings,  and  these  were  connected  with  various 
fire  plugs.  There  were  also  numerous  lengths  of 
hose,  with  nozzles  attached,  hung  up  in  the  several 
buildings,  and  both  the  cadets  and  the  teachers 
had  been  instructed  in  a  fire  drill. 

Some  of  the  cadets,  who  had  been  in  the  gym 
nasium  when  the  fire  was  discovered,  had  already 
brought  out  the  hose  in  that  building  and  at 
tached  it  to  one  of  the  plugs.  Now  this  water 
was  turned  on,  and  a  stream  of  fair  size  began 
to  play  upon  the  flames,  the  cadets,  aided  by  one 
of  the  teachers,  dragging  the  hose  up  the  narrow 
stairway  for  that  purpose. 

"Get  out  hose  number  three  and  number  eight !" 
directed  Colonel  Colby,  who  was  on  the  scene; 
and  the  cadets  went  to  work  with  a  will,  and  soon 
had  two  more  streams  in  action. 

Despite  the  thickness  of  the  smoke,  two  of  the 
teachers  and  several  of  the  cadets  had  gone  up 


PUTTING    OUT    THE   FLAMES  163 

into  the  second  floor  of  the  building  and  located 
the  fire, 

"It's  up  near  the  steam  radiator,  just  between 
the  two  windows,"  announced  one  of  the  teach 
ers.  "It's  in  some  boxes  and  barrels  that  con 
tain  straw  and  excelsior." 

"Isn't  the  building  on  fire?"  queried  one  ca 
det. 

"The  flames  are  going  up  to  the  roof,  but  so 
far  they  haven't  broken  through." 

The  announcement  that  the  fire  so  far  was  con 
fined  to  some  boxes  and  barrels,  nerved  the  cadets 
and  the  others  to  make  a  greater  effort  to  get  it 
under  control,  and  some  began  to  fill  buckets  with 
water  in  the  washroom  below,  and  these  were 
passed  up  the  narrow  stairway  and  the  water 
thrown  wrhere  it  was  apparently  most  needed. 

Randy  and  Andy  were  in  this  bucket  brigade, 
while  Fred  and  Jack  worked  with  one  of  the  hose 
gangs.  It  was  exciting  labor  for  all  of  the  boys, 
but  this  they  did  not  mind. 

"Hurrah!  we're  getting  it  under  control!" 
shouted  Major  Mason  presently.  "Keep  it  up, 
boys,  and  we'll  save  the  whole  building!" 

In  the  crowd  were,  of  course,  Slugger,  Nappy 
and  Codfish.  At  the  first  alarm  they  had  run 
forth  from  the  school  and  gazed  in  amazement 
at  the  smoke  pouring  from  the  gymnasium. 


164    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Oh,  look !  It's  the  gym  that's  on  fire !"  Cod 
fish  had  burst  out;  and  then  the  little  sneak  had 
suddenly  turned  deadly  pale,  and  would  have  sunk 
down  in  the  snow  had  not  Slugger  caught  him. 

"See  here,  Codfish!"  hissed  the  bully,  shaking 
him.  "Don't  you  say  a  word  about  this,  do  you 
understand?  Not  a  word!" 

"Don't  you  dare  to  admit  to  anybody  that  you 
were  upstairs  in  the  gymnasium,"  added  Nappy. 

"I — I  ain't  going  to  say  nothing!"  sniveled 
Codfish,  and  then,  of  a  sudden,  burst  out  crying. 
"You  fellows  let  me  alone!  I  didn't  want  to 
smoke  anyhow !"  he  wailed. 

"Shut  up!  Don't  you  mention  smoking  to 
anybody,  or  I'll  just  about  half  kill  you !"  hissed 
Slugger.  "Now  mind !  not  a  word,  if.  you  know 
when  you  are  best  off!"  and  then  he  gave  Cod 
fish's  arm  such  a  twist  that  the  little  cadet 
screamed  with  pain. 

Not  to  be  suspected  of  what  they  had  done, 
Slugger  and  Nappy  mingled  with  the  other  ca 
dets  and  did  their  full  share  in  working  on  the 
lines  of  hose;  but  there  were  really  more  cadets 
than  were  needed  for  this  labor,  so  they  had  little 
to  do.  Codfish  also  tried  to  take  hold,  but  he 
trembled  so  that  he  soon  had  to  give  up,  and  then 
he  ran  back  into  the  Hall,  where  he  sat  on  the 
stairs,  half  sobbing. 


PUTTING   OUT   THE  FLAMES  165 

By  this  time  there  was  little  more  than  smoke 
to  be  seen  in  the  upper  part  of  the  gymnasium. 
The  teachers  and  the  cadets  still  continued  to  play 
water  into  the  building.  Some  now  began  to 
open  all  the  windows,  realizing  that  a  draft  could 
not  do  much  harm.  Then,  as  the  smoke  began 
to  clear  away,  they  began  an  investigation,  so 
that  the  last  spark  of  the  fire  might  be  extin 
guished. 

"I  guess  it's  about  out,"  announced  Professor 
Brice  presently.  He  had  worked  hard,  and  his 
face  and  hands  were  streaked  with  black. 

"I  think  you  are  right,  Brice,"  answered  Colo 
nel  Colby,  who  had  also  mounted  to  the  upper 
floor.  "We  may  as  well  bring  up  a  few  buckets 
of  water,  and  then  turn  off  all  the  hose.  There 
is  no  use  of  flooding  the  building,  especially  in 
this  cold  weather.  As  it  is,  I  think  the  boys  will 
have  a  skating  pond  below  by  morning,"  and  he 
smiled  faintly. 

"Do  you  suppose  this  started  from  the  heating 
plant?"  questioned  the  teacher. 

"Not  at  all!"  was  the  low  reply.  "But  we 
won't  speak  about  that  now,  Brice,"  added  Colo 
nel  Colby  significantly;  and  thereupon  the  young 
teacher  understood  and  said  no  more  about  the 
matter. 

The  cadets  were  sent  below,  and  Colonel  Colby 


166    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

and  Professor  Brice,  aided  by  a  couple  of  the 
hired  men,  made  a  close  examination  of  the  spot 
where  the  fire  had  taken  place.  It  had  been  con 
fined  almost  wholly  to  three  boxes,  loosely  filled 
with  excelsior,  and  two  barrels  containing  straw 
and  waste  paper. 

"It  was  a  mistake  to  put  such  inflammable  ma 
terial  up  here,"  said  Colonel  Colby  to  Mr.  Crews, 
the  gymnasium  instructor. 

"I  realize  that  now,  Colonel  Colby,"  answered 
Silas  Crews,  and  his  manner  showed  how  much 
the  fire  had  upset  him.  "But,  you  see,  it  was  this 
way.  We  got  some  of  that  new  gymnasium  ma 
terial  in  only  a  couple  of  weeks  ago,  and  we 
weren't  altogether  satisfied  with  it — if  you  will 
remember.  I  said  something  about  sending  it 
back.  Well,  it  came  in  those  boxes  and  barrels, 
and  so  I  just  put  them  up  here,  thinking  that 
maybe  we'd  want  to  use  them  in  sending  the  stuff 
back.  If  it  hadn't  been  for  that,  I'd  have  cleaned 
the  boxes  and  barrels  out  and  burnt  the  stuff 
up." 

"I  see,  Crews.  Well,  after  this,  I  want  you  to 
be  careful  and  not  do  anything  like  that  again." 

"But  I  don't  see  how  the  boxes  and  barrels 
caught  fire,  sir,"  went  on  the  gymnasium  instruc 
tor  perplexedly.  "We  had  no  light  up  here,  and 
I  don't  see  how  they  could  catch  from  that  little 


PUTTING   OUT   THE  FLAMES  167 

steam  radiator  over  there.  Why,  that  radiator 
hardly  gets  warm!"  It  may  be  mentioned  here 
that  the  radiator  had  been  placed  on  the  upper 
floor  of  the  gymnasium  because  there  had  once 
been  talk  of  partitioning  this  part  of  the  floor 
from  the  rest  and  making  of  it  a  meeting  room 
for  one  of  the  cadet  clubs. 

"I'll  make  an  investigation  later,"  answered 
Colonel  Colby.  "For  the  present,  as  the  steam 
heating  plant  seems  to  be  in  perfect  order,  you 
had  better  start  the  fire  up  well,  so  that  we  can 
dry  things  out  here.  Otherwise,  all  the  pipes  may 
freeze  up,  and  that  might  give  us  more  trouble 
than  this  fire." 

"Yes,  sir.  I'll  see  to  it,  sir,"  said  Silas  Crews 
hastily.  "And  I'll  have  this  whole  place  cleaned 
up  the  first  thing  in  the  morning.  And  I'll  also 
have  the  broken  windows  fixed." 

As  soon  as  he  returned  to  the  school,  Colonel 
Colby  sent  for  Randy  and  Fred.  He  questioned 
them  closely  about  the  cigarette  smoking  indulged 
in  by  Slugger,  Nappy  and  Codfish, 

"You  two  are  quite  sure  that  you  were  not 
smoking  yourselves?"  he  demanded  sternly. 

"We  don't  smoke,  sir,"  answered  Randy 
promptly. 

"Did  you  light  any  matches  while  you  were 
upstairs  in  the  gymnasium?" 


168    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"No,  sir.  We  had  no  need  for  a  light,"  re 
turned  Fred. 

"Have  you  any  idea  how  this  fire  started?" 

"I  don't  see  how  it  could  start  unless  it  was 
from  the  cigarettes  and  the  matches  those  fel 
lows  used,"  answered  Randy  bluntly.  "I  hate  to 
make  that  statement,  but  the  truth  is  the  truth." 

"I  believe  you  are  right,  Rover.  Now  then, 
I  wish  you  to  do  me  a  favor.  I  want  you  to 
keep  as  quiet  about  this  as  you  are  to  keep  quift 
about  that  joke  those  cadets  proposed  to  pWy. 
Do  you  understand  ?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  answered  both  the  Rovers. 

"Then  that  is  all  for  the  present;"  and,  so 
speaking,  Colonel  Colby  dismissed  the  boys. 

"I  guess  he's  going  to  save  this  fire  affair  until 
he  catches  them  trying  to  play  the  joke,"  was 
Fred's  comment,  as  they  hurried  away  to  join 
the  others. 

"That's  it,  Fred."  Randy  looked  at  his  cousin 
knowingly.  "There  is  certainly  something  com 
ing  to  Slugger,  Nappy  and  Codfish,  isn't  there  ?" 


CHAPTER  XVII 

CAUGHT   IN   THE  ACT 

THE  news  that  there  had  been  a  fire  at  Colby 
Hall  soon  spread  to  the  town  and  to  Clearwater 
Hall,  and  there  were  many  anxious  inquiries  over 
the  telephone  and  otherwise  as  to  whether  any 
body  had  been  hurt 

"No,  nobody  was  hurt,  and  the  fire  didn't 
amount  to  much,"  said  Spouter,  when  called  up 
by  his  Cousin  May.  "Perhaps,  when  we  see  you 
girls  personally,  we'll  have  something  to  tell  you 
that  will  be  a  surprise." 

In  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  of  the  day  fol 
lowing  the  fire,  a  number  of  letters  were  brought 
in  by  one  of  the  hired  men  from  the  Haven  Point 
post-office. 

"Here's  a  drop  letter  for  you,  Jack,"  remarked 
Gif,  who  was  distributing  some  of  the  mail. 
"Most  likely  from  your  best  girl,"  and  he  smiled 
good-naturedly. 

"Doesn't  look  much  like  a  girl's  handwriting," 
answered  the  oldest  Rover  boy,  as  he  inspected 

169 


170 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 


the  envelope.  Wondering  what  the  letter  might 
contain,  he  tore  open  the  envelope  and  was  con 
siderably  surprised  to  read  the  following,  written 
on  a  raggedly-torn  half  sheet  of  note  paper: 

"You  Rovers  think  yourselves  smart,  but  do 
not  forget  that  I  am  not  done  with  you.  You 
have  been  the  means  of  my  losing  a  very  lucra 
tive  position.  I  will  not  have  you  arrested,  for 
it  would  be  a  hard  matter  for  me  to  obtain  justice 
in  this  neighborhood;  but  I  will  remember  you, 
and  some  day  I  will  bring  you  to  book  for  what 
you  have  done.  You  are  nothing  but  a  set  of 
imps  and  hoodlums,  and  sooner  or  later  Colby 
will  learn  the  truth." 

"This  is  undoubtedly  from  Professor  Lemm," 
announced  Jack,  as  he  allowed  his  cousins  and 
their  chums  to  read  the  letter. 

"He's  certainly  a  sweet-natured  man,"  was 
Andy's  comment.  "He's  real  charitable  and  kind, 
isn't  he  ?"  and  this  brought  forth  a  smile  from  the 
others. 

"What  do  you  think  he'll  do?"  questioned 
Fred. 

"I  don't  believe  he'll  do  anything,"  answered 
Jack.  "Fellows  who  write  such  anonymous  com 
munications  are  usually  cowards.  Old  Lemon 


CAUGHT  IN  THE  ACT  171 

belongs  in  the  class  with  Slugger,  Nappy  & 
Company." 

The  heavy  snowstorm  cleared  away  as  rap 
idly  as  it  had  come,  and  the  wind  blew  the  snow 
from  large  sections  of  the  lake,  so  that  the  cadets 
could  once  more  enjoy  themselves  skating. 

"Let's  skate  up  to  Clearwater  Hall  and  see 
the  girls,"  suggested  Jack  at  the  first  opportunity ; 
and  this  was  agreed  to  readily  by  all  of  the 
crowd. 

They  found  the  girls  of  Clearwater  Hall  on  the 
ice,  watching  out  for  them,  and  soon  the  cadets 
and  the  girls  were  enjoying  themselves  thor 
oughly. 

"You  must  tell  me  all  about  the  fire  and  about 
how  Professor  Lemm  happened  to  leave  the 
Hall,"  said  Ruth,  as  she  skated  away  with  Jack. 

"I'll  do  that,"  he  answered.  "But  you  must 
keep  a  good  part  of  what  I'm  going  to  tell  you  a 
secret — at  least  for  the  present,"  he  added,  and 
then  gave  the  particulars  of  the  joke  which  had 
been  played  on  the  disliked  teacher.  Then  he 
told  of  what  had  occurred  at  the  gymnasium. 

"Oh,  Jack!  do  you  really  think  Slugger  and 
Nappy  and  that  little  Codfish  set  the  gymnasium 
on  fire?"  cried  the  girl. 

"I  think  they  did,  Ruth — although,  of  course, 
it  was  by  accident." 


172    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

''What  dreadful  boys  they  must  be  getting  to 
be,"  sighed  the  girl. 

She  had  quite  a  few  things  to  tell  about  hap 
penings  at  the  Hall,  and  also  mentioned  what  she 
intended  to  do  during  the  Christmas  holidays. 

"I  wish  you  were  coming  down  to  New  York," 
said  Jack.  "I'd  like  first  rate  to  have  you  meet 
my  Sister  Martha  and  my  Cousin  Mary/* 

"Perhaps  I  shall  get  down  there  some  time, 
Jack.  Are  you  going  to  stay  at  home  during  all 
of  the  holidays  ?" 

"No.  We  have  been  planning  to  stay  at  home 
about  a  week,  and  then,  if  we  can  arrange  it,  we 
want  to  visit  Snowshoe  Island  and  do  a  little 
hunting  before  school  opens  again." 

"Then  you're  going  to  accept  old  Uncle  Bar 
ney's  invitation !" 

"That's  the  idea,  Ruth.  You  don't  mind,  do 
you  ?"  and  the  oldest  Rover  boy  looked  anxiously 
at  his  companion. 

"Not  at  all.  In  fact,  I'm  rather  glad  to  hear 
of  your  going  to  the  island.  It  may  give  you  a 
chance  to  talk  to  old  Uncle  Barney  about  my 
folks.  And  if  you  get  any  such  chance,  I  hope 
you'll  impress  it  upon  him  that  we  want  to  be 
friends." 

When  the  cadets  returned  to  Colby  Hall,  both 
Jack  and  Fred  were  in  unusual  good  humor,  for, 


CAUGHT  IN  THE  ACT 


173 


not  only  had  Ruth  said  she  would  try  to  get  down 
to  New  York  during  the  holidays,  but  May  had 
told  Fred  that  if  Spouter  came  down  to  the 
metropolis  she  would  try  to  accompany  her 
cousin. 

Several  days  slipped  by,  and  the  Rover  boys 
applied  themselves  closely  to  their  lessons,  for 
they  wished  to  make  as  good  a  showing  as  pos 
sible  during  the  coming  examinations.  During 
that  time,  they  saw  Slugger,  Nappy  and  Codfish 
a  number  of  times,  but  all  of  those  unworthies 
seemed  to  give  them  a  wide  berth. 

Although  Colonel  Colby  load  not  given  the  Rov 
ers  any  of  the  particulars  of  what  he  proposed 
to  do,  he  had  not  forgotten  what  Randy  and  Fred 
had  told  him.  He  had  had  a  conference  on  the 
subject  with  Professor  Brice,  Silas  Crews,  and 
Bob  Nixon,  the  chauffeur,  and  Nixon  and  Crews 
were  detailed  to  watch  every  movement  made  by 
the  bully  and  his  cronies. 

It  was  on  the  following  Tuesday,  the  day  pre 
vious  to  the  examinations,  that  Silas  Crews  came 
hurrying  to  the  master  of  the  Hall,  who  had  just 
entered  the  school  library  in  search  of  a  certain 
book. 

"I  think  Brown  and  Martell  are  at  it,"  he  an 
nounced  in  a  low  tone  of  voice.  "Martell  just 
sneaked  a  quart  bottle  of  ink  from  the  storeroom, 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

while  Brown  picked  up  some  of  the  cans  of  vege 
tables  which  were  cast  aside  by  the  cook  as  unfit 
to  eat.  Now  they  have  both  gone  down  into  the 
boiler-room,  evidently  after  those  ashes." 

"Continue  to  watch  them,  Crews,  and  tell 
-Nixon  to  watch  them,  too.  I  will  notify  Profes 
sor  Brice,  and  also  Captain  Dale."  Captain  Dale 
was  the  military  instructor  of  the  Academy. 

Silas  Crews  hurried  off,  and  Colonel  Colby  lost 
no  time  in  notifying  the  others  of  what  was  tak 
ing  place.  As  a  result,  a  guard  was  established, 
which  took  cognizance  of  every  move  made  by 
Slugger  and  Nappy.  Why  it  was  that  Codfish 
was  not  with  them,  nobody  knew.  The  fact  was, 
the  poor  little  sneak  had  been  so  terrified  at  the 
mere  mention  of  doing  anything  further  that  he 
had  burst  out  crying  and  locked  himself  in  his 
room,  stating  that  he  was  too  sick  to  act. 

Having  obtained  the  bottle  of  ink  and  several 
cans  of  spoiled  tomatoes,  Slugger  and  Nappy 
Watched  their  chance  and  visited  the  boiler-room 
under  the  school.  Here  they  found  a  dozen  large 
cans  of  ashes,  and  also  an  old  empty  soap-box. 

"We'll  fill  the  soap  box  half  full  of  ashes," 
said  Slugger,  "and  then  we  can  place  the  opened- 
up  cans  of  tomatoes  and  the  opened-up  bottle  of 
ink  on  top.  When  we  get  the  stuff  over  to  Colo 
nel  Colby's  rooms,  we  can  spread  half  of  every- 


CAUGHT  IN  THE  ACT  175 

thing  around  where  it  will  make  the  best  showing, 
then  we  can  skip  over  to  the  offices  and  do  the 
same  thing,  and  after  that  we'll  rush  back  and 
leave  a  little  trail  of  ashes  and  some  ink  leading 
into  the  Rovers'  rooms,  and  place  the  empty  ink 
bottle  and  the  empty  cans  in  their  closets  and  put 
the  ash-box  under  one  of  the  beds." 

"Dandy!"  replied  Nappy.    "Come  on!" 

Not  knowing  that  Bob  Nixon  was  watching 
them  from  a  corner  of  the  boiler-room,  they  soon 
had  the  box  of  ashes  and  other  stuff  ready.  Then, 
watching  their  chance  to  see  that  the  coast  was 
clear,  they  sneaked  up  out  of  the  boiler-room  and 
then  out  of  the  school  by  a  side  door.  Here  a 
path  led  to  the  nearby  building  where  Colonel 
Colby  had  his  private  suite  of  rooms. 

"Now  then,  hurry  up !"  cried  Nappy,  who  was 
beginning  to  show  signs  of  nervousness. 

They  found  the  door  to  the  main  room  un 
locked,  and  both  entered  and  set  the  box  of  stuff 
on  one  of  the  easy  chairs.  Then  one  took  up  the 
ink  and  the  other  an  opened  can  of  the  decayed 
tomatoes. 

"Now  make  a  fine  job  of  it,"  whispered  Slug 
ger. 

Both  took  a  step  forward  to  start  their  nefar 
ious  work,  when  each  was  almost  paralyzed  by 
hearing  Colonel  Colby's  voice. 


176    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Stop !"  commanded  the  master  of  the  school, 
and  stepped  out  from  behind  a  screen  which  stood 
near  a  corner  of  the  apartment. 

"Oh !"  ejaculated  Nappy.  "We're  discovered !" 
and,  dropping  the  bottle  of  ink  in  his  hands,  he 
started  to  run. 

"Not  so  quick,  Martell !"  came  from  the  door 
way,  and  then  both  of  the  youths  were  startled  to 
see  themselves  confronted  by  Bob  Nixon.  Be 
hind  the  chauffeur  stood  Captain  Dale,  while  in 
another  doorway  appeared  the  form  of  Professor 
Brice. 

"Wa — wa — what  does  this  mean?"  stammered 
Slugger.  He  knew  not  what  to  say  or  do. 

"It  means  that  I  have  found  you  out,"  an 
swered  Colonel  Colby  sternly.  "You  will  both 
march  over  to  my  office  at  once." 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
HOME  AGAIN; 

"GooD  riddance  to  bad  rubbish !" 

"You  told  the  truth  that  time,  Andy.  We're 
certainly  well  rid  of  Slugger  Brown  and  Nappy 
Martell." 

"Say!  I'd  like  to  know  some  of  the  particu 
lars  of  the  interview  Slugger  and  Nappy  had 
with  Colonel  Colby.  It  must  have  been  a  pippin," 
remarked  Fred. 

"One  thing  is  certain — Colonel  Colby  must  have 
laid  down  the  law  pretty  severely  to  them ;  other 
wise  they  would  never  have  gotten  out  of  this 
school  in  such  a  hurry,"  came  from  Jack. 

"I'm  mighty  glad  I  got  that  one  crack  in  on 
Martell,"  remarked  Fred.  "Some  day  I'll  give 
that  fellow  a  licking,  big  as  he  is,"  continued  the 
youngest  of  the  Rover  boys. 

"The  only  fellow  I'm  sorry  for  is  Codfish," 
came  from  Randy.  "That  poor  little  rat  looks 
about  as  miserable  as  any  kid  could  look." 

"He  ought  to  be  thankful  that  he  wasn't  kicked 
177 


178    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

out  with  the  others,"  said  Spouter.  "He  cer 
tainly  deserved  it." 

"He  did,"  agreed  Jack.  "Just  the  same,  now 
that  Slugger  and  Nappy  are  gone,  if  Codfish 
wants  to  turn  over  a  new  leaf  and  make  a  man 
of  himself,  I'm  not  going  to  stand  in  his  way." 

Twenty- four  hours  had  passed  since  the  events 
recorded  in  the  previous  chapter.  They  had  been 
filled  with  both  mystery  and  excitement  for  the 
Rover  boys  and  their  chums.  Only  a  little  of 
what  had  taken  place  in  Colonel  Colby's  office 
had  filtered  out  to  the  cadets,  but  it  was  enough  to 
show  them  that  the  master  of  the  Hall  had  dealt 
severely  with  Slugger  and  Nappy.  Those  two 
unworthies  had  come  forth  looking  both  cowed 
and  excited,  and  they  had  rushed  up  to  their  rooms 
to  pack  their  belongings  without  delay. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Codfish  had  come  forth  sob 
bing,  and  had  been  allowed  to  go  to  his  room, 
where  he  locked  himself  in  and  denied  himself 
even  to  Mrs.  Crews,  the  matron  who  looked  after 
the  younger  scholars. 

"I — I  don't  want  to  see  no — nobody !"  Codfish 
had  cried  out.  "Go  away  and  leave  me  alone! 
I — I  didn't  mean  to  do  anything !  It  was  Brown 
and  Martell  made  me  do  it!"  and  then  he  had 
burst  into  another  fit  of  weeping. 

Both  the  Rover  boys  and  their  chums  had 


HOME  AGAIN 


179 


panted  to  see  how  the  bully  and  his  crony  would 
act  after  their  interview  with  Colonel  Colby. 
They  met  Slugger  and  Nappy  in  the  hall  as  they 
were  on  the  point  of  leaving  the  school,  and  some 
sharp  words  had  passed.  Nappy  had  threatened 
Fred,  and  made  a  savage  pass  at  him  with  his  fist. 
In  return,  the  youngest  Rover  had  landed  on  the 
other's  chin,  and  sent  Nappy  staggering  up  against 
the  wall. 

In  the  meanwhile,  there  had  been  a  set-to  be 
tween  Slugger  and  Jack,  and  although  the  oldest 
Rover  boy  was  struck  on  the  shoulder,  he  had 
had  the  satisfaction  of  making  the  bully  measure 
his  length  on  his  back.  Then  the  approach  of 
Professor  Brice,  backed  up  by  Captain  Dale  and 
Bob  Nixon,  had  brought  the  brief  contests  to  a 
close,  and  Slugger  and  Nappy  had  lost  no  time  in 
hurrying  below,  where  the  auto-stage  was  already 
in  waiting  to  take  them  and  their  baggage  to 
Haven  Point.  Many  of  the  cadets  assembled  had 
jeered  at  the  departing  youths,  and  they,  in  their 
rage,  had  shaken  their  fists  at  those  left  behind  as 
the  auto-stage  departed. 

"I  hope  we  never  see  those  fellows  again,"  re 
marked  Randy.  But  this  wish  was  doomed  to 
disappointment — the  Rovers  were  to  see  a  good 
deal  more  of  Slugger  Brown  and  Nappy  Martell. 

The  boys  had  now  to  apply  themselves  to  their 


l8o    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

examinations,  and  they  went  at  this  with  a  will, 
resolved  to  make  the  best  showing  possible. 

"We've  got  to  do  it,"  was  the  way  Jack  ex 
pressed  himself.  "We  want  the  folks  at  home 
to  know  that  we  are  keeping  at  our  studies.  Then, 
if  they  happen  to  hear  of  some  of  the  jokes  we 
play,  they  will  know  that  we're  doing  something 
else  here  besides  having  fun." 

The  lads  had  already  written  home  regarding 
the  Christmas  holidays  and  what  they  would  like 
to  do.  In  return,  they  received  word  that  they 
could  have  Gif  and  Spouter  down  for  the  week 
between  Christmas  and  New  Year's  if  they  so  de 
sired.  And  Jack's  mother  also  sent  a  letter  to 
Spouter  inviting  him  to  bring  along  his  Cousin 
May  and  her  friend,  Ruth. 

"All  of  us,  including  Martha  and  Mary,  will 
be  glad  to  become  acquainted  with  your  cousin 
and  her  school  chum,"  wrote  Mrs.  Dick  Rover. 
"The  girls  are  very  anxious  to  learn  more  about 
Clearwater  Hall,  and  it  is  just  possible  that  we 
may  send  them  to  that  school  later  on." 

"Hurrah!  that's  fine!"  cried  Jack,  when 
Spouter  showed  him  the  letter.  "If  only  May 
and  Ruth  go  to  New  York,  I'm  sure  they'll  be 
able  to  persuade  Martha  and  Mary  that  there 


HOME  AGAIN  jgi 

is  no  better  girls'  school  on  earth  than  Clearwater 
Hall." 

"You  leave  that  to  me,  Jack,"  answered 
Spouter.  "I'll  tell  May  just  what  to  do." 

Of  course  the  Rover  boys  were  all  very  anxious 
after  the  examinations  were  over  to  find  out  how 
they  had  fared.  On  the  following  Friday  after 
noon  Colonel  Colby  read  the  results.  Fred  and 
Randy  had  received  ninety-four  per  cent.,  Jack 
had  gotten  ninety-two,  and  Andy  had  reached 
eighty-eight.  As  seventy  per  cent,  was  the  pass 
ing  mark,  it  can  be  seen  that  the  boys  had  passed 
with  considerable  to  spare. 

"My,  that's  a  relief!"  sighed  Andy.  "Some 
how,  at  the  last  minute,  I  was  afraid  I  had  fallen 
down  completely.  There  were  a  few  examples  in 
algebra  that  were  regular  stickers  for  me." 

"Physiology  was  what  got  me,"  observed  Jack 
grimly.  "How  do  I  know  how  many  bones  I've 
got  in  my  body?  I  never  saw  them,"  and  at  this 
there  was  a  general  smile. 

After  the  examinations  there  was  but  little  to 
do  at  the  school  apart  from  the  drills.  There  was 
an  entertainment  given  by  the  boys  in  which  both 
Jack  and  Andy  took  part.  Then,  almost  before 
they  knew  it,  the  session  came  to  an  end,  and  the 
cadets  had  packed  up  and  were  on  their  way 
home. 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"After  all,  I'll  be  glad  to  see  little  old  New 
York  once  more,"  remarked  Randy,  when  they 
and  their  friends  were  seated  on  the  train. 

"Right  you  are!"  cried  Fred.  "I  think,  after 
the  semi-country  life  at  Haven  Point,  a  big  city 
will  look  mighty  good  to  us." 

"Say,  fellows,  do  you  remember  when  we  came 
up  to  the  school,  how  we  fell  in  with  Asa  Lemm  ?" 
remarked  Andy. 

"I  haven't  forgotten  it!"  cried  his  twin,  and 
then  he  added  quickly:  "I  wonder  if  old  Lemon 
wrote  to  our  folks." 

"I  don't  think  so,"  answered  Jack.  "If  he  had, 
I  think  we  would  have  heard  of  it.'* 

When  the  boys  arrived  at  the  Grand  Central 
Terminal,  they  found  Martha  and  Mary  and  Tom 
Rover  awaiting  them. 

"Glad  to  see  you  back,  boys !"  cried  the  father 
of  the  twins,  as  he  greeted  them  warmly,  and 
then  greeted  the  others. 

"Oh,  Jack,  I  declare  you're  growing  awfully 
tall!"  burst  out  his  sister  Martha,  as  she  em 
braced  him. 

"Well,  I  guess  Fred  is  growing  tall,  too,"  put 
in  Mary  Rover. 

"Well,  you  wouldn't  expect  any  of  us  to  grow 
shorter,  would  you?"  queried  Andy  gaily,  and 
this  made  both  of  the  girls  laugh. 


HOME  AGAIN  183 

With  greetings  all  around  finished,  the  whole 
party  pushed  its  way  through  the  crowd  to  the 
Forty-second  Street  entrance  of  the  Terminal, 
where  two  of  the  Rover  limousines  were  in  wait 
ing. 

"This  looks  something  like!"  remarked  Jack, 
when  the  automobiles  were  on  their  way  through 
the  busy  streets  to  Riverside  Drive.  "I  haven't 
seen  so  many  people  since  I  left." 

"And  how  do  you  like  Colby  Hall  ?"  questioned 
his  sister  eagerly. 

"Dandy,  Martha!  It  couldn't  be  beat!  I  can 
tell  you,  we  boys  are  mighty  glad  that  our  dads 
picked  out  such  a  bully  good  school  for  us,"  and 
his  face  showed  his  satisfaction. 

"And  what  about  Clearwater  Hall?" 

"That's  a  dandy  place,  too, — at  least,  the 
girls  who  go  there  say  it  is.  If  May  Powell  comes 
down  with  Spouter,  she'll  tell  you  all  about 
it." 

The  home-coming  of  the  Rover  boys  was  a  gala 
occasion.  Dick  Rover  and  his  brother  Sam  had 
just  come  up  home  from  the  offices  in  Wall  Street, 
and  they  and  their  wives,  as  well  as  the  twins' 
mother,  greeted  the  lads  affectionately  . 

"It's  been  kind  of  lonely  since  you  went  away," 
said  Mrs.  Tom  Rover,  as  she  caught  each  of  the 
twins  around  the  waist. 


184    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"I  suppose  you  missed  our  tricks,  Ma,"  re 
turned  Andy  slyly. 

"Maybe  I  did,  Andy.  But  I  wouldn't  mind  the 
tricks  so  much  if  only  you  were  here,"  and  she 
gave  a  little  sigh. 

"Well,  we're  going  to  be  here  for  a  week,  any 
way,"  put  in  Randy,  and  then  both  of  the  twins 
gave  their  mother  such  a  hug  as  she  had  not  re 
ceived  for  a  long  time. 

Jack  was  already  telling  his  father  and  his  two 
uncles  something  about  Colby  Hall.  All  of  the 
men  listened  with  close  attention  and  considerable 
satisfaction. 

"I  guess  Larry  has  patterned  it  pretty  closely 
after  Putnam  Hall  and  West  Point,"  remarked 
Sam  Rover.  "And  that's  as  it  should  be,  to  my 
way  of  thinking." 

"He'd  have  to  go  a  long  way  to  do  better," 
answered  Tom  Rover.  "Everybody  knows  that 
West  Point  is  an  ideal  school,  and  dear  old  Put 
nam  Hall  was  a  close  second  to  it." 

"I  hope  you  lads  haven't  been  playing  too  many 
tricks,"  went  on  Dick  Rover,  as  he  gazed  from 
one  face  to  another  before  him. 

"Well,  Uncle  Dick,  we  had  to  play  some  tricks," 
answered  Andy,  a  bit  lamely. 

"You  couldn't  expect  us  to  just  sit  still  and 
hold  our  hands,"  added  Randy. 


HOME  AGAIN 


185 


"We  might  as  well  own  up  to  one  thing,"  said 
Jack  boldly.  "We  did  play  a  trick  on  one  of  the 
teachers — a  fellow  named  Asa  Lemm.  Nobody 
liked  Lemm,  and  when  Colonel  Colby  had  a  rum 
pus  with  him  and  made  him  resign,  all  of  us  felt 
better." 

Fortunately  for  the  boys,  an  interruption  came 
just  at  that  moment  in  the  way  of  an  announce 
ment  that  dinner  was  ready.  This  was  served  in 
the  Dick  Rover  home,  and  was  participated  in  by 
all  of  the  members  of  the  Rover  family.  It  made 
quite  a  table  full. 

"Gee !  but  it's  nice  to  be  here  once  more !"  ex 
claimed  Andy,  while  he  was  eating. 

"Beats  a  meal  in  the  mess-room  at  the  Hall 
all  hollow,  doesn't  it  ?"  returned  his  twin. 

"And  yet  you  talk  about  going  away  on  a  hunt 
ing  trip,"  broke  in  their  father  quizzically. 

"Oh,  yes!  But  Uncle  Tom,  we  are  going  to 
spend  a  whole  week  in  New  York  before  that!" 
broke  in  Fred. 

"I  want  to  know  a  little  more  about  this  trip 
you're  planning  to  Snowshoe  Island,"  remarked 
Dick  Rover.  "I  want  to  make  sure  that  it's  a 
perfectly  safe  place  for  you  to  visit." 

"Oh,  I'm  sure  it's  safe  enough,"  answered  Jack ; 
and  thereupon  he  and  the  others  told  what  they 
knew  about  the  island  and  Barney  Stevenson. 


186      THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"That  old  lumberman  must  be  quite  a  char 
acter,"  was  Dick  Rover's  comment.  "Well,  we'll 
see  about  this  trip  later,"  and  there,  for  the  time 
being,  the  matter  was  dropped. 

The  boys  had  gotten  home  just  two  days  before 
Christmas,  and  they  spent  their  entire  time  the 
next  day  in  shopping  for  presents.  In  this  they 
were  partly  aided  by  Martha  and  Mary,  especially 
when  it  came  to  selecting  presents  for  their  moth 
ers.  Then,  however,  they  sent  the  girls  away, 
so  that  they  might  buy  something  for  them.  Al 
though  they  did  not  mention  this,  Jack  also  wished 
to  get  a  little  reminder  for  Ruth,  while  Fred  was 
equally  desirous  of  obtaining  something  for  May. 

Christmas  dawned  bright  and  clear,  and  many 
were  the  cries  of  joy  which  rang  throughout  the 
three  Rover  households.  All  the  young  folks 
spent  over  an  hour  in  running  back  and  forth, 
wishing  this  one  and  that  one  "Merry  Christ 
mas!"  Then  came  the  distribution  of  presents. 

"Just  what  I  wanted!"  cried  Fred,  as  he  in 
spected  his  pile  of  gifts.  There  was  a  new  watch, 
some  gorgeous  neckties,  several  books,  and  a 
splendid  little  double-barrelled  shotgun. 

"Don't  say  a  word!  It  couldn't  be  better!" 
came  from  Randy. 

"The  best  Christmas  ever!"  echoed  his  twin. 
They;  too,  had  numerous  gifts,  including  little 


HOME  AGAIN  187 

diamond  stickpins,  new  skates,  some  boxing 
gloves,  and  bright-colored  sweaters,  into  which 
their  cousins  had  knitted  the  initials  C.  H. 

"Now,  I  presume,  you'll  be  real  Colby  Hall 
cadets,"  said  their  mother,  when  they  had  donned 
the  sweaters  and  were  strutting  around  in  them. 

"This  sure  is  one  grand  Christmas !"  said  Jack. 
He,  too,  had  fared  well,  receiving  a  beautiful  seal 
ring,  a  new  traveling  bag,  completely  equipped, 
several  sets  of  books  for  which  he  had  longed 
greatly,  and  also  a  small,  but  first-class,  repeating 
rifle. 

"Now  we've  certainly  got  to  go  on  that  hunt," 
remarked  Fred,  placing  his  new  shotgun  beside 
the  new  rifle. 

"Right  you  are,  Fred !"  responded  Jack.  "But 
first  we're  going  to  have  one  dandy  time  down 
here  in  New  York/' 


CHAPTER  XIX 

OFF    FOR    SNOWSHOE    ISLAND 

"WHAT  an  awfully  large  place  New  York  is !" 

It  was  Ruth  who  uttered  the  words  while  she 
•vras  taking  a  ride  down  Fifth  Avenue  in  com 
pany  with  Jack  and  his  sister  and  several  of  the 
others. 

It  was  the  day  after  Christmas,  and  Spouter 
had  arrived  at  noon,  bringing  his  cousin  May  and 
Ruth  with  him.  The  young  folks  were  taking  a 
ride  previous  to  stopping  at  the  Grand  Central 
Terminal  to  meet  Gif,  who  was  to  come  later. 

"You  won't  find  many  places  larger,"  answered 
Dick.  He  felt  very  happy  to  think  that  Ruth  was 
beside  him,  and  more  so  because  Ruth  and  his 
sister  seemed  to  become  good  friends  from  the 
very  moment  they  met. 

Behind  the  first  auto  came  a  second,  contain 
ing  Spouter,  May,  Mary,  and  Fred.  They,  too, 
were  enjoying  themselves,  the  youngest  Rover 
doing  what  he  could  to  point  out  the  various  places 
of  interest  to  Spouter's  fair  cousin. 
188 


OFF  FOR  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND  189 

The  Rover  boys,  aided  by  Mary  and  Martha, 
had  laid  their  plans  for  the  next  five  days  with 
care.  The  young  folks  were  to  be  taken  to  Cen 
tral  and  Bronx  Parks,  to  several  well-known  thea 
ters,  and  also  to  the  Grand  Opera,  and  Mrs.  Dick 
Rover  had  arranged  to  give  a  party  at  her  home 
in  the  visitors'  honor. 

Mary  and  Martha  had  been  eager  to  hear  about 
Clearwater  Hall,  and  the  two  girl  visitors  were 
not  slow  in  singing  the  praises  of  that  institution. 

"Oh,  I  think  I'd  like  to  go  there !"  cried  Mar 
tha.  "What  do  you  think,  Mary?" 

"I  think  I'd  like  to  go  myself,  now  that  we 
know  somebody  there,"  was  her  cousin's  reply. 
Mary  had  always  been  a  little  shy. 

During  those  days  of  pleasure  in  New  York 
only  one  thing  occurred  to  mar  the  happiness  of 
the  young  folks.  That  was  one  afternoon  when 
all  of  them  went  over  to  Central  Park  for  a 
couple  of  hours  to  enjoy  the  skating.  There,  quite 
unexpectedly,  they  ran  into  Nappy  Martell.  He 
favored  the  Rover  boys  with  a  black  look,  and 
then  lost  himself  in  the  crowd  of  skaters. 

"He  certainly  has  no  love  for  us,"  was  Jack's 
comment.  "If  he  could  possibly  do  us  an  injury, 
I  think  he  would  do  it." 

But  aside  from  this  incident  the  young  folks 
had  nothing  to  worry  them,  and  they  spent  a  most 


190      THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

agreeable  time  on  the  ice.  They  talked  a  good 
deal  of  nonsense,  and  often  laughed  when  there 
was  no  apparent  cause  for  so  doing,  but  that  was 
due  entirely  to  their  high  spirits.  When  they  re 
turned  to  the  Rover  homes  the  girls  had  a  glow 
in  their  cheeks  and  a  sparkle  in  their  eyes  that 
made  them  more  beautiful  than  ever. 

"That  Ruth  Stevenson  is  certainly  a  handsome 
girl,"  whispered  Mrs.  Dick  Rover  to  her  hus 
band. 

"So  she  is,  Dora,"  answered  Dick.  "And  if 
you'll  notice,  our  Jack  has  quite  an  eye  for  her," 
he  added  dryly. 

"Oh,  Dick !  you  don't  suppose  he's  smitten  with 
her?  Why,  he's  so  young!" 

"I'm  not  saying  anything  about  that,  Dora.  I 
can't  help  but  remember  that  I  was  smitten  with 
you  the  first  time  I  saw  you,"  and  at  this  Dora 
Rover  gave  her  husband  a  warm  look  that  meant 
a  great  deal. 

May  had  not  forgotten  her  promise  to  her 
Cousin  Spouter,  and  during  the  visit  she  did  all 
she  could  to  impress  on  the  older  folks  the  charms 
of  life  at  Clearwater  Hall.  She  told  of  what  fine 
teachers  there  were  at  the  school,  how  rapidly 
most  of  the  pupils  advanced  in  their  studies,  and 
of  the  good  times  to  be  had  there. 

"And  I  do  hope  that  you  will  let  Mary  and 


OFF  FOR  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 


191 


Martha  join  us,"  she  concluded.  "I  am  sure 
they  will  feel  perfectly  at  home  there,  and  that 
they  will  be  as  well  taught,  if  not  better,  than  they 
would  be  if  they  remained  here  in  the  city." 

"I'll  think  it  over,  May,"  answered  Mrs.  Sara 
Rover ;  and  Martha's  mother  said  the  same. 

Jack  and  his  cousins  had  already  sent  a  letter 
to  Barney  Stevenson,  completing  the  arrange 
ments  for  going  up  to  Snowshoe  Island.  Now 
came  a  brief  communication  from  the  old  lum 
berman,  stating  that  he  would  be  on  the  look-out 
for  them,  and  would  do  all  he  could  to  make  their 
outing  enjoyable. 

"What  a  nice  letter  for  him  to  write!"  ex 
claimed  Ruth,  when  Jack  showed  her  the  com 
munication.  "Oh,  I  do  hope  you'll  be  able  to 
fix  up  this  difference  between  old  Uncle  Barney 
and  my  folks !  It's  dreadful  to  have  him  on  the 
outs  with  our  family." 

"As  I  said  before,  Ruth,  I'll  do  what  I  can," 
Jack  replied. 

With  so  much  going  on,  the  holidays  sped  by 
swiftly,  and  all  too  soon  it  was  time  for  the  visi 
tors  to  take  their  departure.  Spouter  and  Gif 
both  wished  they  could  accompany  the  Rovers  to 
Snowshoe  Island,  but  this  was  not  to  be,  as  they 
had  already  made  other  arrangements. 

**But  have  a  good  time,"  said  Spouter. 


192 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 


"Don't  forget  to  lay  low  a  few  deer  and  a  bear 
or  two,"  added  Gif. 

"Good  gracious !  you  don't  expect  them  to  shoot 
bears,  do  you?"  exclaimed  May,  in  some  alarm. 

"I  don't  believe  there  are  any  bears  on  that  is 
land,  are  there?"  came  from  Ruth. 

"There  are  very  few  bears  anywhere,"  an 
swered  Jack.  "Gif  was  only  fooling.  The  big 
gest  game  that  we  may  possibly  see  will  be  a  deer, 
although  even  they  are  growing  scarce.  We  may 
see  nothing  bigger  than  squirrels,  rabbits  and 
partridges,  and  maybe  a  mink  or  a  fox." 

The  Rover  boys  accompanied  the  others  to  the 
Grand  Central  Terminal.  Here  Jack  managed  to 
have  a  few  words  in  private  with  Ruth,  and  at  the 
conclusion  he  gave  her  hand  so  tight  a  squeeze 
that  she  blushed.  Then  the  visitors  boarded  the 
train  and  in  a  minute  more  were  gone. 

"And  now  to  get  ready  for  the  trip  to  Snow- 
shoe  Island !"  cried  Randy. 

"That's  the  talk !"  returned  his  twin. 

The  boys  were  to  leave  for  Rockville,  the  near 
est  railroad  station  to  Snowshoe  Island,  on  the 
day  after  New  Year's.  They  spent  several  hours 
in  packing  their  things,  being  advised  in  that  mat 
ter  by  their  iathers,  who,  as  my  old  readers  know, 
had  been  on  many  hunting  expeditions  before 
them. 


OFF  FOR  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 


193 


"Now,  there  is  no  use  of  my  giving  you  any 
advice  on  how  to  handle  your  firearms,"  said 
Dick  Rover.  "I  have  given  you  that  advice  be 
fore,  and  you  ought  to  remember  what  I  said." 

"I  do,  Dad,"  answered  his  son.  "And  I'm  sure 
the  others  remember,  too." 

"And  I  want  you  two  boys  to  keep  out  of  mis 
chief,"  put  in  Tom  Rover,  addressing  his  twins. 
"Of  course,  you  can  have  all  the  fun  you  please, 
but  let  it  be  good,  innocent  nonsense.  Don't  do 
anything  mean,  and  don't  do  anything  to  get 
somebody  else  into  trouble." 

"And  my  advice  is,  to  go  slow  and  be  careful," 
added  Sam  Rover.  "In  other  words:  'Look  be 
fore  you  leap' " 

"As  the  clown  in  the  circus  said,"  finished  Tom 
Rover,  "when  he  thought  he  was  going  to  jump 
through  a  paper  hoop  and  found  instead  that  it 
was  a  solid  white  barrel-head;"  and  at  this  little 
joke  there  was  a  general  laugh. 

The  boys  had  already  told  their  fathers  about 
the  doings  of  Nappy  Martell  and  Slugger  Brown. 

"Nappy  Martell  is  evidently  the  son  of  his 
father,"  remarked  Dick  Rover.  "The  senior  Mar- 
tell  is  just  as  domineering,  and  not  one  bit  more 
reliable.  Down  in  Wall  Street  we've  been  watch 
ing  him  pretty  closely." 

"Yes,  and  he  needed  watching,"  put  in  Tom 


194    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

Rover.  "To  my  mind,  if  he  isn't  a  fraud,  he's 
pretty  close  to  it." 

"You  said  something  about  his  underhanded 
work  before,"  came  from  Sam.  "If  he  is  a 
swindler,  I  certainly  hope  that  sooner  or  later 
they  expose  him." 

The  boys  had  learned  that  Rockville  was  a 
town  of  considerable  importance  and  boasted  of 
several  good-sized  stores.  They  felt  certain  that 
they  could  buy  all  the  supplies  needed  at  that 
place,  so  it  would  be  unnecessary  to  get  them  in 
New  York.  They,  however,  took  along  all  the 
clothing  that  was  needed,  and  likewise  their  guns 
and  a  good  supply  of  ammunition. 

"Now  do  be  careful!"  pleaded  Mrs.  Tom 
Rover,  when  they  were  ready  to  depart.  "I  don't 
want  any  of  you  to  get  shot." 

"Don't  you  worry,  Ma.  We'll  be  careful  all 
right  enough,"  answered  Randy,  as  he  kissed  her 
good-bye. 

Several  of  the  neighboring  boys  had  come  to  see 
them  off,  and  there  was  a  little  bit  of  envy  as 
these  watched  the  Rovers  depart.  They  went  to 
the  railroad  station  in  one  of  the  limousines,  only 
the  two  girls  going  with  them  to  see  them  off. 

"Now  don't  get  hurt,  Jack,"  said  Martha,  when 
it  was  almost  time  for  him  to  take  the  train. 
"Remember,  if  you  do,  Ruth  will  never  forgive 


"  WHAT  A   NICE   LETTER  FOR  HIM  TO  WRITE!"    EXCLAIMED  RUTH. 

Page  191 

The  Rover  Boys  on  Snowshoe  Island. 


OFF  FOR  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND  195 

you,"  and  she  gave  her  brother  a  roguish  look 
which,  somehow,  made  his  cheeks  burn. 

"Aw,  cut  that,  Martha!"  he  answered.     And 
then,  of  a  sudden,  he  continued :  "You  join  those 
girls  at  Clearwater  Hall,  and  I'll  pick  a  fine  cadet 
f  for  you  to  go  out  with." 

"Boo!"  cried  Martha,  and  put  out  the  tip  of 
her  tongue  at  him.  "Who  said  I  wanted  any  of 
your  old  cadets!"  Then,  as  he  and  his  cousins 
ran  for  the  train,  she  waved  him  an  affectionate 
farewell. 

The  boys  had  obtained  seats  in  advance  in  one 
of  the  parlor  cars,  and  soon  they  made  them 
selves  comfortable.  They  talked  over  what  had 
happened  while  their  visitors  had  been  with  them, 
and  presently  commenced  to  discuss  the  expected 
hunting  on  and  around  Snowshoe  Island. 

"We  ought  to  have  a  dandy  two  weeks,"  was 
Fred's  comment.  "Just  think  of  it !  For  fourteen 
days  we'll  be  able  to  do  exactly  as  we  please!" 

"Yum-yum!"  added  Randy.  "Sleep  as  long 
as  you  please,  eat  when  you  please  and  as  much 
as  you  please,  and  shoot  all  the  game  you  want 
tc!  What  more  could  a  fellow  want?" 

"And  cut  all  the  firewood  you  want  to!  And 
wash  all  the  dirty  dishes  you  want  to !  And  miss 
all  the  really  good  game  you  want  to "  com 
menced  Andy. 


196    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Jump  on  him!" 

"Throw  him  out  of  the  window !" 

"Let's  make  him  go  without  his  supper  to 
night!" 

So  the  cries  went  on  as  the  three  others  caught 
Andy  by  the  arms  and  by  the  coat  collar. 

"Hold  up!  I  surrender!"  gasped  the  fun-lov 
ing  youth.  "Let  up !  will  you  ?" 

"You've  got  to  promise  to  be  good  and  not 
throw  cold  water  on  our  hopes,"  announced  Jack. 
"We're  going  to  have  the  best  time  ever  on  Snow- 
shoe  Island.  And  not  a  thing  is  going  to  happen 
to  mar  our  pleasure." 

But  in  this  last  surmise  the  oldest  Rover  boy 
was  sadly  mistaken.  Many  things  of  which  he 
and  his  cousins  did  not  dream  were  to  occur,  not 
only  to  startle  and  annoy  them,  but  also  to  place 
them  in  extreme  peril. 


CHAPTER   XX 

CAUGHT  IN  A  SNOWSTORM 

"NEXT  station  stop  Rockville !" 

"That's  our  jumping  off  place,  boys !  We  had 
better  get  our  baggage  together!"  exclaimed 
Jack. 

"I  wonder  if  Barney  Stevenson  will  be  at  the 
station  to  meet  us?"  questioned  Fred. 

"That  depends  on  whether  he  got  my  last  mes 
sage  or  not,"  answered  Jack.  "However,  if  he 
isn't  there,  I  guess  we  can  find  our  way  to  Snow- 
shoe  Island  alone." 

Soon  the  long  train  rolled  into  the  little  station 
at  Rockville,  and  the  boys  alighted,  being  assisted 
by  the  porter,  who  had  already  taken  charge  of 
their  baggage.  He  readily  accepted  the  tip  they 
gave  him,  and,  as  he  had  learned  that  they  were 
off  on  a  little  hunting  tour,  said  he  hoped  they 
would  have  every  success. 

"But  don't  you  bring  down  too  many  lions  and 
elephants,"  added  the  colored  man. 

"No,  we'll  leave  the  lions  and  elephants  for 
107 


198    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

you,"  returned  Andy,  and  this  made  the  porter 
grin  broadly,  showing  two  rows  of  white  ivories. 

"Hello,  boys !  So  you've  got  here  at  last,  eh  ?" 
cried  a  voice  from  the  doorway  of  the  railroad 
station,  and  old  Barney  Stevenson  strode  toward 
them.  He  looked  the  picture  of  health,  having 
recovered  entirely  from  the  accident  in  the  woods. 
He  shook  hands  cordially,  giving  each  hand  a 
squeeze  that  made  the  recipient  wince. 

"We're  glad  to  see  you,  Mr.  Stevenson,"  began 
Fred,  when  up  went  the  old  lumberman's  hand  in 
protest. 

"'Twon't  do,  boys!  'Twon't  do  at  all!  If 
you're  going  to  come  over  to  Snowshoe  Island 
with  me,  you've  got  to  drop  that  Mister  business. 
Plain  Uncle  Barney  is  good  enough  for  me." 

"All  right,  then!  Uncle  Barney  it  is!"  an 
swered  Fred,  and  the  others  smiled  and  nodded. 

"I  just  got  your  message  this  noon,"  explained 
the  old  lumberman.  "Billy  Sanders,  the  station 
agent's  son,  brought  it  over  to  me.  I  see  you've 
got  your  duffle  with  you,"  and  he  looked  at  their 
various  bags. 

"We  didn't  bring  anything  along  in  the  way  of 
provisions,"  answered  Randy.  "We  thought  we 
could  buy  all  those  things  here  in  town." 

"So  you  can — providing  you've  got  the  money, 
lad ;"  and  Uncle  Barney  smiled. 


CAUGHT  IN  A  SNOWSTORM 


199 


"Oh,  we've  got  the  money!"  answered  Andy. 
"Our  folks  treated  us  very  handsomely." 

"I  brought  over  my  big  bobsled,"  went  on  the 
old  lumberman.  "Come  ahead — I'll  help  you 
carry  your  baggage.  We  can  leave  it  all  at 
Crumpers'  boathouse  until  we  get  the  other 
•stuff." 

He  led  the  way,  and  they  soon  found  them 
selves  at  the  boathouse  he  had  mentioned.  Here 
they  placed  their  traveling  bags  on  Uncle  Bar 
ney's  bobsled,  and  then  made  their  way  to  a 
nearby  general  store,  where  the  old  fellow  was 
well  known. 

"We've  got  a  list  written  out  here,"  explained 
Jack,  bringing  it  forth.  "I'll  read  it  to  you,  and 
then  you  can  tell  me  what  you  think  of  it." 

The  list  was  quite  a  long  one,  and  the  old  lum 
berman  listened  attentively  as  Jack  read  it  over. 
Then  he  nodded  approyj-ngly. 

"You've  got  it  about  right,  boys,"  he  said. 
"You  must  have  been  out  before." 

"My  dad  helped  me  make  out  this  list,"  ex 
plained  Dick.  "He  and  my  uncles  have  had  quite 
some  experience  hunting,  and,  of  course,  they 
knew  just  what  to  take  along." 

"Do  you  think  it  will  be  enough?"  questioned 
Randy  anxiously.  His  appetite  for  eating  never 
seemed  to  be  lacking. 


200    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"You've  got  enough  there  for  six  or  eight," 
answered  the  old  lumberman.  "However,  it 
won't  do  any  harm  to  add  a  few  more  beans  and 
a  little  extra  bacon;  likewise  a  little  more  sugar, 
seeing  as  how  boys  generally  like  things  sweet." 

It  was  an  easy  matter  to  purchase  the  various 
articles  at  the  general  store,  and  the  boys  had  the 
clerk  pack  them  securely  in  several  soap  boxes. 
Then  Jack,  as  the  treasurer  for  the  crowd,  paid 
the  bill. 

By  this  time  it  was  growing  dark,  and  Uncle 
Barney  told  them  they  had  better  not  waste  their 
time. 

"I  may  be  mistaken,  but  it  looks  a  good  deal 
like  another  snowstorm  to  me,"  he  explained. 
"And  if  it's  going  to  snow,  we  might  as  well  get 
to  the  island  before  it  starts  to  come  down  too 
hard." 

The  old  lumberman  was  right  about  the  snow, 
and  some  early  flakes  came  sifting  down  while 
they  were  still  at  the  boathouse  packing  the  bob 
sled.  The  old  lumberman  showed  them  how  to 
secure  the  load  so  that  there  would  be  no  danger 
of  its  falling  off. 

"Now  then,  on  with  your  skates,  and  we'll  be 
off,"  he  announced.  In  the  winter  time  he  al 
ways  made  the  journey  between  the  island  and 
the  town  on  his  steel  runners. 


CAUGHT  IN  A  SNOWSTORM  2OI 

"I  suppose  skating  is  a  good  deal  easier  than 
walking,"  remarked  Fred,  while  the  boys  were 
putting  on  their  skates. 

"To  be  sure.  And  we  can  make  so  much  better 
time." 

"How  far  have  we  got  to  go?"  questioned 
Andy. 

"To  the  upper  end  of  the  island,  where  I've  got 
my  home,  is  about  four  miles." 

"Oh,  that  isn't  so  far!"  cried  Fred.  "We  can 
skate  that  in  no  time." 

"We  could  if  we  could  go  in  a  straight  line. 
But  we  can't,"  answered  Uncle  Barney.  "The 
wind  blew  the  last  snow  in  all  sorts  of  ridges 
across  the  ice,  and  we'll  have  to  pick  our  way 
along  as  best  we  can." 

A  long  rope  had  been  attached  to  the  bobsled, 
so  that  they  could  all  assist  in  hauling  it  along. 
On  the  smooth  ice  the  load  proved  to  be  a  light 
one,  so  that  they  had  little  difficulty  in  progress 
ing.  But,  as  the  old  lumberman  had  said,  the 
ridges  of  snow  on  the  lake  were  numerous,  and 
some  of  these  were  piled  up  several  feet  high,  and 
the  party  had  to  make  long  detours  around  them. 

"This  isn't  going  to  be  so  easy,  after  all,"  re 
marked  Fred,  after  they  had  skated  for  almost 
half  an  hour.  "I  thought  we  would  get  to  Snow- 
shoe  Island  in  no  time." 


202    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

It  was  now  quite  dark,  and  the  snow  was  fall 
ing  steadily.  So  far,  there  had  been  little  wind, 
but  now  this,  too,  sprang  up,  sending  the  frozen 
particles  directly  into  their  faces. 

"Gee!  this  isn't  so  pleasant!"  exclaimed  Andy, 
as  he  pulled  down  his  cap  and  pulled  up  the 
sweater  he  was  wearing. 

"The  wind  is  increasing,"  said  Fred  a  minute 
later.  "Hark  to  that,  will  you?" 

All  listened,  and  from  a  distance  heard  the 
wind  stirring  through  the  woods  bordering  the 
lake  in  that  vicinity.  Then  the  wind  bore  down 
upon  them,  and  with  it  came  a  heavier  fall  of 
snow. 

"Say,  this  is  going  to  be  some  snowstorm !" 

"Yes,  and  some  blow  too !" 

"I  wish  it  wasn't  so  dark !" 

"Uncle  Barney,  are  you  sure  you  know  the 
way?"  questioned  Randy,  as  all  came  to  a  halt 
for  a  moment  to  turn  their  backs  to  the  wind  and 
catch  their  breath. 

"Oh,  yes,  my  lad!  I  know  the  way  well 
enough,"  was  the  old  lumberman's  reply.  "But, 
believe  me,  I  didn't  expect  any  such  snowstorm 
as  this  when  I  went  after  you.  I  thought  it  would 
be  just  an  ordinary  fall." 

"It  seems  to  be  getting  heavier  every  minute," 
declared  Jack,  as  he  sheltered  his  eyes  with  his 


CAUGHT  IN  A  SNOWSTORM  203 

hand  and  tried  to  peer  forth  into  the  darkness. 
"Why,  the  snow  is  coming  down  in  regular 
chunks !" 

The  flakes  were  indeed  both  heavy  and  thick, 
and  the  wind  sent  the  snow  sweeping  across  the 
ice,  forming  new  ridges  in  every  direction. 

"The  first  thing  you  know,  we'll  be  blocked 
completely,"  declared  Randy,  after  they  had  pro 
gressed  another  quarter  of  a  mile.  "Just  look  at 
that  wall  of  snow,  will  you?"  and  he  pointed 
ahead,  where  a  snowdrift  was  all  of  five  feet  high 
and  rapidly  growing  higher. 

The  Rovers  could  see  by  his  manner  that  the 
old  lumberman  was  growing  much  disturbed.  He 
led  the  way  first  in  one  direction  and  then  in  an 
other.  Then  presently  he  called  a  halt. 

"It  ain't  no  use,"  he  declared  flatly.  "I  thought 
I  could  work  my  way  around  these  snowdrifts, 
the  same  as  I  did  when  I  came  over  to  town  after 
you.  But  the  darkness  and  this  heavy  fall  of 
snow  is  bothering  me  tremendously." 

"What  do  you  think  we  ought  to  do?'*  ques 
tioned  Fred  anxiously.  The  situation  was  mak 
ing  the  youngest  Rover  boy  a  little  fearful. 

"I  guess  about  the  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to 
strike  a  bee-line  for  the  island,"  answered  Uncle 
Barney.  "It  won't  be  much  harder  to  break 
through  these  snowdrifts  than  it  is  to  try  to  find 


2O4 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 


our  way  around  them  in  this  wind  and  darkness." 

"Are  you  sure  you  know  the  way  to  the  island  ?" 
questioned  Jack,  who  knew  only  too  well  that  it 
was  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  tc  get  turned 
around  in  such  a  situation  as  this. 

"Oh,  I'm  pretty  sure  I  haven't  lost  my  bear 
ings,"  answered  the  old  lumberman.  "However, 
to  make  sure,  maybe  I  had  better  have  a  squint 
at  my  compass." 

"Oh,  say!  that  puts  me  in  mind!"  burst  out 
Randy.  "What's  the  matter  with  using  one  of 
our  flashlights?"  for  the  boys  had  brought  along 
two  of  those  useful  articles,  which  were  now 
packed  in  the  baggage  on  the  bobsled. 

"Yes,  let's  get  out  both  of  the  flashlights,"  re 
turned  Fred.  "In  this  darkness  we'll  want  all  the 
light  we  can  get." 

Sheltering  themselves  as  best  they  could  from 
the  wind,  which  seemed  every  minute  to  be  in 
creasing  in  violence,  the  boys  unstrapped  part  of 
their  load  and  managed  to  bring  forth  the  two 
flashlights.  While  this  was  being  done,  Uncle 
Barney  brought  from  his  pocket  a  small  com 
pass. 

"Now,  I  think  north  is  in  that  direction,"  he 
said,  pointing  with  his  hand.  With  the  aid  of 
one  of  the  lights,  the  compass  was  inspected,  and 
it  was  found  that  the  old  lumberman  was  almost 


CAUGHT  IN  A  SNOWSTORM  205 

right,  he  having  pointed  a  little  to  the  northwest. 

"If  we'd  gone  on  the  way  I  expected  to  go, 
we'd  have  struck  the  lower  end  of  the  island  in 
stead  of  the  upper,"  he  explained.  "It  wouldn't 
have  made  a  great  deal  of  difference,  but  we 
might  as  well  take  the  straightest  line  we  know 
how.  Come  on!  Follow  me,  and  I'll  break  the 
way  for  you." 

Once  more  they  started  forward,  and  in  a  min 
ute  more  the  boys  found  themselves  struggling 
through  snow  which  was  several  feet  deep. 

"Gee!  a  fellow  ought  to  have  snowshoes  in 
stead  of  skates !"  panted  Fred,  when  in  the  midst 
of  the  drift.  "This  is  the  worst  ever!" 

"The  drift  isn't  very  wide,  Fred,"  announced 
Jack,  who  was  ahead  of  his  cousin,  flashing  one 
of  the  lights  around.  "Here  we  come  to  the  clear 
ice  again,"  and  a  few  seconds  later  they  found 
themselves  skating  along  as  easily  as  before. 

But  this  open  patch  did  not  last  long.  Soon 
they  came  to  several  more  snowdrifts.  The  first 
was  barely  a  foot  high,  but  the  second  was  almost 
up  to  their  arm-pits.  The  old  lumberman  was 
still  ahead,  breaking  a  path  for  them  as  well  as 
he  was  able.  Hampered  with  the  load  of  the 
bobsled,  the  boys  made  slow  progress. 

"It's  no  use!"  groaned  Andy  at  last.  "I'm  afl 
out  of  breath.  I've  got  to  stop  and  rest" 


2o6    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"We  had  better  not  stop  to  rest  here,  Andy," 
answered  Jack  quickly.  "We  must  reach  some 
sort  of  shelter  from  this  wind." 

"I'm  all  out  of  breath  myself,"  came  from 
Fred.  The  exertion  of  plowing  through  the 
snowdrifts  had  tired  him  dreadfully,  and  he  was 
trembling  in  the  legs  so  that  he  could  scarcely 
stand. 

"Come  on,  boys !  Don't  stay  here !"  called  back 
Uncle  Barney  to  them.  "This  snowstorm  is  get 
ting  worse  every  minute !" 

The  old  lumberman  had  scarcely  spoken  when 
all  the  boys  heard  a  strange  whistling  in  the  air. 
Then  the  wind  tore  down  upon  them  harder  than 
ever,  sending  the  snowy  particles  in  all  directions, 
so  that  to  make  out  what  was  ahead,  even  with 
the  flashlights,  was  out  of  the  question. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

AN  ASTONISHING  REVELATION 

THE  situation  was  certainly  a  disheartening 
one,  and  the  boys  huddled  close  together  around 
the  bobsled,  both  for  protection  and  to  talk  the 
matter  over. 

"Can  you  tell  us  at  all  how  far  we  really  are 
from  some  sort  of  shelter — I  mean  the  nearest 
shelter  at  hand  ?"  questioned  Jack  of  Uncle  Bar 
ney,  as  the  old  lumberman  came  back  to  see  what 
had  happened. 

"It's  about  a  mile  to  my  cabin,"  was  the  reply. 

"And  is  that  the  nearest  place?"  asked  Fred, 
who  had  sat  down  on  the  bobsled  load  to  rest. 

"No.  The  nearest  place  is  a  little  hut  that  I 
put  up  at  this  end  of  the  island  several  years  ago. 
It  isn't  very  much  of  a  shelter,  but  it  might  do." 

"Do  you  mean  we  could  stay  there  all  night?" 
queried  Randy. 

"Oh,  yes.     It's  plenty  large  enough  for  all  of 
us,  and  there  is  a  rough  fireplace  where  we  could 
start  a  blaze  and  cook  something." 
207 


208    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Then  let's  head  for  that  place,  by  all  means !" 
cried  Jack.  "This  storm  is  getting  worse  every 
minute." 

With  the  wind  whistling  keenly  in  their  ears 
and  blowing  the  snow  across  the  ice  and  into 
numerous  high  drifts,  the  little  party  moved  on 
once  more,  the  boys  doing  their  best  to  keep  up 
with  the  old  lumberman.  This  was  comparatively 
easy,  for  even  Uncle  Barney  was  well-nigh  ex 
hausted  by  his  exertions. 

"If  this  snow  keeps  on,  it  will  be  one  of  the 
worst  storms  we  ever  had  up  here,"  he  announced. 
"But,  somehow,  I  don't  think  it  will  last ;  the  sky 
didn't  look  heavy  enough  this  afternoon." 

"I  hope  it  doesn't  last,"  returned  Jack. 

"We  don't  want  to  be  snowed  in  while  we  are 
up  here,"  added  Randy.  "We  want  to  have  a 
chance  to  hunt." 

To  make  progress  against  the  fury  of  the  ele 
ments  was  not  easy,  but  presently  the  boys  heard 
Uncle  Barney  give  a  cry  of  satisfaction. 

"Here  we  are,  lads,  in  sight  of  the  island!" 
exclaimed  the  old  lumberman.  "Now  it  won't  be 
long  before  we  reach  that  shelter  I  mentioned." 

By  the  aid  of  the  two  flashlights,  the  boys  made 
out*  a  number  of  trees  and  bushes  ahead.  The 
bushes  were  covered  thickly  with  snow,  and  be 
hind  them  were  sharp  rocks,  also  outlined  in  white. 


AN   ASTONISHING   REVELATION 


209 


"This  is  what  I  call  Squirrel  Point,"  explained 
the  old  lumberman.  "It  used  to  be  a  great  place 
for  squirrels." 

"How  much  further  to  that  shelter?"  queried 
Fred.  Just  then  he  took  no  interest  whatever  in 
game.  He  was  so  tired  he  could  scarcely  place 
one  foot  in  front  of  the  other;  and,  to  tell  the 
truth,  his  cousins  were  little  better  off. 

"We've  got  only  a  couple  of  hundred  feet  to 
go,"  was  the  reply.  "Come  ahead.  I'll  help  you 
pull  that  bobsled,"  and  now  Uncle  Barney  took 
hold,  and  once  again  they  started  forward,  this 
time  skirting  the  lower  extremity  of  Snowshoe 
Island.  Here  there  were  a  great  number  of  pines 
and  hemlocks  growing  amid  a  perfect  wilderness 
of  rocks,  now  all  thickly  covered  with  snow. 

"Now  you'll  have  a  little  climbing  to  do,"  an 
nounced  the  old  lumberman  a  few  minutes  later. 
"You  might  as  well  take  off  your  skates,  and  I'll 
do  the  same.  And  we'll  have  to  hoist  that  bob 
sled  up  the  best  we  know  how." 

He  had  turned  toward  the  island,  and  soon  they 
were  climbing  up  over  the  rough  rocks  and  pull 
ing  the  bobsled  after  them.  In  one  spot  they  had 
to  raise  the  sled  up  over  their  heads.  The  old 
lumberman  assisted  them  in  this  task,  and  then 
pointed  to  a  small,  cleared  space  between  a  number 
of  pines. 


210    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Hurrah !  I  see  the  hut !"  cried  Jack  in  delight, 
and  ran  forward,  followed  by  his  cousins.  Uncle 
Barney  came  with  them,  and  an  instant  later  had 
forced  open  a  rude  door.  Then  one  of  the  lights 
was  flashed  inside. 

The  boys  and  Uncle  Barney  had  expected  to 
find  the  little  cabin  vacant.  Consequently  they 
were  much  surprised  when  they  heard  a  queer 
little  noise,  not  unlike  the  snarl  of  a  dog. 

"By  gum !  it's  a  wolf !"  ejaculated  the  old  lum 
berman  in  amazement. 

Scarcely  had  he  spoken  when  there  leaped  into 
view  a  full-grown  wolf.  As  he  confronted  the 
boys  and  the  old  man,  he  snarled  viciously,  and 
his  eyes  appeared  to  gleam  like  two  balls  of  fire. 

"It's  a  wolf,  sure  enough!" 

"Shoot  him,  somebody !    Shoot  him !" 

"Where's  my  gun?" 

"The  guns  are  all  strapped  down  on  the  bob 
sled!" 

Such  were  some  of  the  cries  which  came  from 
the  Rover  boys  when  they  found  themselves  con 
fronted  by  the  wolf.  They  fell  back  several  paces, 
and  Uncle  Barney  did  likewise.  The  old  lumber 
man  had  gone  to  Rockville  armed,  but  he  too  had 
strapped  his  weapon  fast  on  the  bobsled,  so  that 
he  might  assist  the  boys  in  hauling  the  load. 

As  the  little  party  fell  back  wondering  what 


AN  ASTONISHING   REVELATION         211 

was  best  to  do,  the  wolf  gave  another  leap,  there 
by  reaching  the  doorway  of  the  little  cabin.  Then, 
with  a  snarl,  he  whirled  around,  leaped  into  the 
snow  behind  some  hemlocks,  and  in  a  moment 
more  had  disappeared  from  view. 

"Well,  what  do  you  know  about  that!"  cried 
Fred  faintly. 

"And  to  think  we  weren't  ready  to  shoot!" 
groaned  Randy. 

"We're  a  fine  bunch  of  hunters,  we'are !"  scoffed 
Andy. 

"Well,  we  didn't  expect  to  find  a  wolf  in  pos 
session  of  this  hut,"  remarked  Jack.  "Just  the 
same,  I  wish  we  had  been  able  to  get  a  shot  at 
him,"  he  added  wistfully. 

"I  should  have  carried  my  gun,"  remarked 
Uncle  Barney.  "It  was  a  mistake  to  put  it  on 
the  sled.  That's  just  my  luck,  confound  it! 
Whenever  I  go  out  free-handed,  I'm  almost  cer 
tain  to  see  something  worth  shooting,"  and  hq 
shook  his  head  grimly. 

"You  didn't  say  anything  about  wolves  being 
on  the  island,"  said  Fred,  while  the  old  man  was 
looking  around  inside  the  cabin  with  both  flash 
lights. 

"There  are  very  few  wolves  in  this  neighbor 
hood,"  was  the  reply.  "The  last  wolf  I  saw  on  the 
island,  outside  of  this  one,  was  two  years  ago." 


27.5     THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

Ar?  the  door  to  the  cabin  had  been  closed,  the 
boy'j  wondered  how  the  wolf  had  gotten  into  the 
place,,  but  Uncle  Barney  showed  them  a  small, 
broken -out  window  in  the  rear  of  the  shelter. 
This  window  was  now  partly  covered  with  snow. 

"I  suppose  the  wolf  thought  he  couldn't  get 
out  that  way  on  account  of  the  snow,  and  con 
sequently  he  had  to  come  by  way  of  the  door," 
explained  the  old  lumberman.  "Well,  I'm 
'mighty  glad  he  didn't  go  any  damage." 

An  examination  revealed  the  fact  that  no  other 
living  thing  was  in  or  around  the  cabin,  and  as 
soon  as  they  were  satisfied  of  this,  the  boys 
brought  in  the  bobsled.  In  the  meantime,  Uncle 
Barney  stirred  around  outside  and  managed  to 
find  some  firewood  which  was  fairly  dry.  Then 
a  blaze  was  started  in  the  rude  fireplace,  the  door 
was  shut,  and  a  blanket  was  nailed  up  over  the 
broken-out  window. 

"Now  this  is  something  like !"  remarked  Jack, 
when  the  cabin  began  to  grow  warm.  The  boys 
had  unpacked  the  contents  of  the  bobsled  and 
brought  forth  a  candle,  which  was  lighted  and 
placed  in  a  rude  holder  on  the  wall. 

Now  that  they  were  safe  from  the  storm,  all 
of  the  Rovers  felt  in  better  humor.  Uncle  Barney 
showed  them  how  they  could  obtain  water  by 
melting  some  snow  and  ice,  and  soon  they 


AN   ASTONISHING   REVELATION 


213 


had  enough  to  make  a  pot  of  chocolate  and  another 
pot  of  coffee.  In  the  meantime,  the  old  lumber 
man,  assisted  by  Jack,  opened  up  a  box  of  sardines 
fried  some  bacon,  and  also  warmed  up  a  can  of 
green  corn  which  had  been  among  the  stores. 
They  had  no  bread,  so  they  used  up  one  of  the  box 
es  of  soda  crackers  which  they  had  purchased. 

"It's  too  bad  we  haven't  got  some  game  to 
cook,"  observed  Randy. 

"Let's  be  thankful  that  we've  got  some  sort  of 
a  roof  over  our  heads,  and  that  we  can  rest,"  put 
in  Fred.  He  had  not  yet  gotten  over  the  struggle 
to  get  through  the  snow. 

With  nothing  else  to  do,  the  boys  and  the  old 
lumberman  took  their  time  over  the  evening  meal, 
and  never  had  anything  tasted  better  than  did  this 
first  supper  on  Snowshoe  Island  to  the  Rovers. 

Outside  the  wind  was  blowing  as  strongly  as 
ever,  and  the  snow  still  came  down  steadily.  To 
make  sure  that  they  would  not  suffer  from  the 
cold,  all  of  the  lads  went  out  with  Uncle  Barney 
and  brought  in  a  large  supply  of  firewood.  Then 
they  built  up  a  good  blaze,  around  which  they  sat 
in  a  semicircle  on  the  sled  and  the  boxes  brought 
along,  and  on  a  rude  bench  of  which  the  little 
cabin  boasted. 

"When  I  first  came  to  Snowshoe  Island, 
twelve  years  ago,  I  thought  I  would  locate  at  this 


214    THE  RO^ER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

end,"  remarked  Barney  Stevenson  during  the 
course  of  the  conversation.  "But  after  staying 
here  a  short  while  I  concluded  that  it  was  nicer  at 
the  upper  end,  so  I  went  there." 

"Did  you  buy  the  island  as  far  back  as  that?" 
queried  Jack. 

"Oh,  no,  lad.  In  those  days  I  only  leased  the 
island.  You  see,  it  belonged  to  an  old  lady  named 
Martinson.  She  had  a  son  who  drifted  out  to 
California,  and  then  went  to  Alaska.  When  the 
old  lady  died,  Luke  Martinson  came  back  home, 
and  then  he  came  to  see  me.  He  wanted  to  get 
rid  of  all  his  property  around  here  so  he  could  go 
back  to  Alaska,  and  he  offered  this  place  to  me, 
and  I  bought  it.  That  was  several  years  ago." 

"It's  nice  to  own  an  island  like  this,"  observed 
Fred.  "A  fellow  can  have  a  regular  Robinson 
Crusoe  time  of  it  if  he  wants  to." 

"When  I  bought  the  island  I  thought  I'd  have 
no  difficulty  in  holding  it,"  continued  Barney 
Stevenson.  "But  since  that  time  I  have  had  a 
whole  lot  of  trouble.  Two  men  claim  that  Luke 
Martinson  never  had  any  rights  here — that  the  old 
Martinson  claim  to  the  island  was  a  false  one. 
They  have  tried  two  or  three  times  to  get  me  off 
the  place,  but  I've  refused  to  go." 

"Didn't  you  get  a  deed  to  the  island?"  ques 
tioned  Jack,  who  had  often  heard  his  father  and 


AN   ASTONISHING   REVELATION         215 

his   uncles    speak   about   deeds   to    real    estate. 

"Certainly,  I  got  a  deed !  But  they  claim  that 
the  old  Martinson  deed  was  no  good.  But  it  is 
good — and  I  know  it!"  grumbled  Uncle  Barney. 

"Who  are  the  men  who  want  to  take  the  island 
away  from  you?"  questioned  Andy.  "Some 
hunters  around  here,  or  lumbermen?" 

"Oh  no !  They  are  two  men  from  the  city — a 
real  estate  dealer  and  a  man  who  used  to  be  in 
terested  in  buying  and  selling  property,  but  who 
lost  most  of  his  fortune  and  then  went  to  teach 
ing,  or  something  like  that." 

"Teaching!"  exclaimed  Jack,  struck  by  a  sud 
den  idea.  "What  is  that  man's  name,  if  I  may 
ask?" 

"His  name  is  Asa  Lemm,  and  the  name  of  the 
other  man  is  Slogwell  Brown,"  was  the  reply  of 
the  old  lumberman,  which  filled  the  Rover  boys 
•with  amazement 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE    FIRST     NIGHT    ON     THE    ISLAND 

"AsA  LEMM  and  Slogwell  Brown!" 

"What  do  you  know  about  that,  boys?" 

"That's  bringing  this  matter  pretty  close  to  us, 
isn't  it?" 

"I  should  say  so!" 

Such  were  some  of  the  remarks  coming  from 
the  Rover  boys  after  Barney  Stevenson  had  made 
his  astonishing  declaration  that  the  father  of  Slug 
ger  Brown  and  the  ex-teacher  of  Colby  Hall  were 
the  two  men  who  were  trying  to  dispossess  him. 

"Why,  you  speak  as  if  you  knew  those  two 
men!"  exclaimed  the  old  lumberman. 

"We  certainly  know  Asa  Lemm,"  answered 
Jack. 

"And  we  know  the  son  of  Slogwell  Brown," 
added  Randy. 

"Yes,  and  if  Mr.  Brown  is  no  better  than  his 
son,  I  wouldn't  put  it  past  him  to  do  something 
crooked,"  was  Andy's  comment. 

"Tell  me  what  you  know,"  said  Uncle  Barney. 
216 


THE   FIRST   NIGHT    ON    THE    ISLAND 


217 


Thereupon  the  four  boys  related  the  particulars 
of  the  trouble  they  had  had  with  Professor  Lemm, 
and  of  how  he  had  left  the  military  academy. 
They  also  told  much  about  Slugger,  and,  inci 
dentally,  Nappy  Martell,  and  of  how  the  two  ca 
dets  had  been  dismissed  by  Colonel  Colby. 

"This  certainly  is  wonderful!"  exclaimed  the 
old  lumberman,  when  they  had  finished.  "I  had 
no  idea  you  boys  knew  anything  about  those  men. 
I  reckon  your  opinion  of  their  honesty  is  just 
about  as  high  as  mine  is,"  and  he  smiled  grimly. 

Asa  Lemm  claims  to  have  lost  quite  a  fortune," 
said  Jack;  "but  we  certainly  did  not  think  that 
part  of  it  was  located  in  this  island." 

"It  isn't  located  in  this  island — at  least  it  isn't 
so  far  as  I  am  concerned!"  cried  Uncle  Barney, 
"If  those  men  bought  what  they  thought  were  the 
rights  to  this  island,  they  were  defrauded,  that's 
all !  And  that  has  absolutely  nothing  to  do  with 
my  rights  to  this  land !" 

"I  should  think  if  you  got  a  good  deed  to  thft 
land  from  that  Luke  Martinson — and  his  folks 
had  a  good  deed  from  somebody  else — that  ought 
to  be  proof  enough  that  you  own  the  island." 

"Well,  I've  got  the  deed  from  Martinson,  and 
I've  got  the  old  deeds  he  used  to  have,  too !  I've 
got  them  placed  away  in  a  tin  box  and  in  a  safe 
place,  too!"  answered  the  old  man. 


2i8    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Then,  if  you've  got  those  deeds,  why  do  they 
bother  you?"  questioned  Fred. 

"As  I've  said  before,  they  won't  admit  that  the 
deeds  old  Mrs.  Martinson  had  were  any  good. 
The  fact  of  the  matter  is,  Slogwell  Brown  wants 
to  get  those  deeds  away  from  me.  He  has  been 
at  me  to  let  him  look  at  the  deeds  several  times, 
but  I've  always  refused,  for  I  was  afraid  that  if 
he  got  the  deeds  away  from  me  I  would  never 
see  them  again." 

"I  thought  they  recorded  deeds  at  the  Court 
House,"  said  Jack,  who  had  heard  this  fact  men 
tioned  between  his  father  and  his  uncles. 

"They  do  record  deeds,  and  I  suppose  that  one 
was  recorded  at  some  time  or  other;  but  the  Court 
House  in  this  county  was  burnt  down  some  years 
ago  and  all  the  records  went  up  in  smoke." 

"But  you  could  get  the  deeds  recorded  now — 
I  mean  have  it  done  over  again,"  remarked  Randy. 

"I  suppose  so.  But  that  wouldn't  do  me  any 
good,  because  they  would  probably  try  to  prove 
that  the  deeds  I  brought  in  were  not  the  originals. 
You  see,  the  date  when  a  deed  is  recorded  has  a 
good  deal  to  do  with  it.  Anyway,  I'm  not  going 
to  let  anybody  have  those  deeds  until  I  am  sure  of 
what  I'm  doing,"  went  on  Uncle  Barney.  It  was 
easy  to  see  that  the  old  man  was  peculiar  and 
wanted  to  do  things  in  his  own  manner. 


THE   FIRST  NIGHT   ON   THE  ISLAND 


219 


"Did  you  ever  ask  a  lawyer  about  this  ?"  ques 
tioned  Fred. 

"No !  I  ain't  got  no  use  for  lawyers !"  was  the 
quick  reply.  "I  hired  a  lawyer  in  a  lawsuit  nigh 
on  to  thirteen  years  ago,  and  I  lost  the  suit  and  it 
cost  me  over  a  hundred  dollars  more  than  I  might 
have  paid  otherwise."  The  old  lumberman  did 
not  add  that  this  was  a  lawsuit  to  which  Ruth 
Stevenson's  father  was  also  a  party,  yet  such  was 
the  fact. 

"How  long  is  it  since  you  heard  from  Mr. 
Brown  and  Professor  Lemm?"  asked  Andy. 

"The  last  time  they  came  to  see  me  was  in  the 
middle  of  the  summer.  They  threatened  all  sorts 
of  things,  and  they  got  me  so  mad  that  I  had  to 
take  down  my  shotgun  and  warn  them  away. 
Then  they  left  in  a  big  hurry.'* 

"Don't  you  think  it's  a  bad  thing  to  warn 
them  off  with  a  gun?"  questioned  Jack.  "They 
might  have  you  arrested  for  threatening  their 
lives." 

"I'm  not  afraid  of  them!"  was  the  quick  re 
ply.  "This  is  my  island,  and  nobody  shall  take 
it  away  from  me!" 

The  boys  could  see  that  the  subject  was  becom 
ing  distasteful  to  the  old  man,  and  so  they  started 
to  speak  of  other  things.  They  questioned  him 
about  how  they  could  get  to  his  regular  cabin, 


220    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

and  also  the  cabin  they  were  to  occupy,  and  then 
spoke  about  the  game  they  might  have  a  chance 
to  bring  down. 

"Your  going  hunting  will  depend  a  good  deal 
on  how  the  weather  turns  out,"  said  the  old 
lumberman.  "If  this  snow  keeps  on  for  a  day  or 
two,  it  will  make  traveling  pretty  bad.  However, 
I'm  in  hopes  that  the  storm  will  clear  away  by 
morning." 

The  boys  had  put  in  a  strenuous  day,  and  they 
were  glad  enough  when  Uncle  Barney  suggested 
that  they  turn  in  for  the  night. 

"We're  pretty  short  on  blankets,"  he  said,  "but 
that  won't  matter  so  much  so  long  as  we  keep 
the  fire  going.  I've  got  a  good  back  log  started, 
and  that  ought  to  last  until  morning,  if  not 
longer.  When  I'm  at  this  hut  alone,  I  usually 
sleep  in  that  corner,  and  I'll  do  the  same  to-night. 
You  can  spread  yourselves  around  as  you  please." 

With  such  a  limited  supply  of  blankets,  it  was 
no  easy  matter  to  make  comfortable  couches,  yet 
the  boys  had  left  home  to  rough  it,  so  nobody 
complained.  They  lay  down  in  their  clothing, 
using  some  of  their  suitcases  and  Gladstone  bags 
for  pillows. 

"If  we  had  had  a  chance  to  do  so,  we  might 
have  brought  in  some  pine  boughs  to  lie  on,"  said 
Jack.  "But  as  it  is,  I  guess  we'll  manage." 


THE   FIRST  NIGHT   ON    THE   ISLAND    221 

"Is  there  any  chance  of  that  wolf  coming 
back?"  questioned  Fred,  a  bit  anxiously. 

"I  hardly  think  so,  Fred.  And,  anyway,  I 
don't  see  how  he's  going  to  get  in  here,  with  the 
door  closed  and  the  blanket  nailed  over  the  win 
dow.  However,  we  can  keep  our  guns  handy  in 
case  he  does  appear." 

Worn  out  so  completely,  it  did  not  take  the  boys 
long  to  fall  into  a  sound  sleep,  and  the  old  lum 
berman  soon  joined  them,  snoring  lustily.  Thus 
the  night  passed,  and  nothing  came  to  disturb 
them. 

Of  the  lads,  it  was  Randy  who  was  the  first 
to  arise  in  the  morning.  He  found  Uncle  Barney 
in  the  act  of  stirring  up  the  fire.  The  old  lumber 
man  had  already  brought  in  some  ice  to  be 
melted  for  a  pot  of  coffee. 

"I  ain't  really  awake  in  the  morning  until  after 
I've  had  my  cup  of  coffee,"  he  explained.  "That's 
the  one  thing  that  really  sets  me  on  my  feet." 

"How  about  the  storm?"  questioned  Randy, 
and  now  the  sound  of  his  voice  set  the  others  to 
stirring. 

"The  storm  is  about  over,"  was  the  welcome 
announcement.  "In  a  little  while  I  think  you'll 
see  the  sun  peeping  out  over  the  woods  on  the 
eastern  shore." 

"Hurrah !  that's  good  news !"  cried  Andy,  leap- 


222    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

ing  to  his  feet  and  stretching  himself.  "I  must 
have  a  look !"  and,  jamming  his  cap  on  his  head, 
he  started  for  the  door.  The  other  Rovers  fol 
lowed  him. 

Outside  they  found  the  snow  covering  every 
thing  to  a  depth  of  from  several  inches  to  several 
feet,  but  the  air  was  as  clear  as  a  bell,  and  just 
beyond  the  woods,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake 
Monona,  there  was  a  rosy  glow,  betokening  the 
rising  of  the  sun. 

"It's  going  to  be  a  grand  day !"  exclaimed  Fred. 

"I  don't  think  it  could  be  any  better,  even 
though  the  snow  is  quite  deep  in  spots,"  returned 
Jack. 

Once  more  they  went  over  the  stores  which  had 
been  brought  along,  and  took  out  enough  for 
breakfast.  They  had  with  them  some  flour  for 
griddle  cakes,  and  soon  the  appetizing  odor  of  the 
cakes,  mingling  with  the  aroma  of  hot  coffee  and 
hot  chocolate,  filled  the  little  cabin.  Then  they 
took  turns  at  frying  bacon  and  making  more  grid 
dle  cakes  and  eating  breakfast. 

"What  do  you  think  will  be  the  easiest  way  of 
getting  to  the  other  end  of  the  island?"  ques 
tioned  Jack  of  Uncle  Barney,  while  they  were 
eating. 

"Well,  as  you've  got  the  bobsled  and  all  those 
stores  along,  I  should  say  the  easiest  way  would 


THE    FIRST   NIGHT    ON    THE    ISLAND 


223 


be  to  climb  down  to  the  lake  again/'  was  the  re 
ply.  "That  wind  must  have  cleaned  off  some  of 
the  ice,  and  we  can  get  along  a  good  deal  better 
by  skating  and  by  hauling  the  bobsled  over  the  ice 
than  we  can  trying  to  break  our  way  through  the 
woods  in  this  heavy  fall  of  snow." 

"I  was  thinking  if  we  walked  the  length  of  the 
island  we  might  stir  up  some  game,"  remarked 
Randy. 

"You'll  have  plenty  of  chances  to  go  out  after 
game  after  you're  settled  at  the  regular  camp," 
returned  the  old  lumberman.  "The  game  isn't  go 
ing  to  run  away,  you  know,"  and  he  smiled  pleas 
antly. 

Breakfast  at  an  end,  the  boys  lost  no  time  in 
repacking  their  belongings,  and  Uncle  Barney  as 
sisted  them  in  fastening  the  load  to  the  bobsled. 

"But  I'm  going  to  carry  my  shotgun  this  time," 
announced  Fred.  "Then,  if  any  game  appears,  I'll 
be  ready  for  it." 

"You  can  all  carry  your  guns  if  you  want  to," 
said  the  owner  of  the  island.  "I'll  leave  my 
weapon  strapped  to  the  sled,  so  that  if  any  game 
appears  you  boys  can  do  the  shooting." 

The  little  cabin  was  closed  up,  and  then  the 
party  made  its  way  down  over  the  rough  rocks 
and  between  the  trees  to  the  lake  shore.  It  was 
no  easy  matter  to  bring  the  bobsled  along,  and 


224 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 


once  Fred  slipped  on  one  of  the  smooth  rocks  and 
pitched  headlong  into  a  snowbank. 

"Hi  you!  stop  your  fooling!"  cried  Andy,  and 
then,  in  great  glee,  he  picked  up  a  chunk  of  snow 
and  hurled  it  at  Jack. 

"Let  up !"  cried  the  oldest  Rover  boy.  "This 
is  no  time  for  jokes!"  and  then,  as  Andy  came 
at  him  with  another  chunk  of  snow,  he  jumped  at 
his  cousin,  put  out  his  foot,  and  made  the  fun- 
loving  youth  measure  his  length  in  a  drift. 

"Wow!  but  that  snow  is  cold!"  cried  Andy, 
who  had  gotten  some  down  the  sleeves  of  his 
sweater.  "Stop !  Don't  bury  me !  I'll  be  good  I" 
And  then  he  scrambled  to  his  feet  once  more, 
while  Fred  did  the  same.  Then  the  whole  party 
proceeded  on  its  way. 

Reaching  the  lake,  they  lost  no  time  in  putting 
on  their  skates,  and  then,  with  Uncle  Barney  lead 
ing  the  way,  the  four  Rovers  followed,  dragging 
the  loaded  bobsled  behind  them. 

On  all  sides  could  be  seen  snowdrifts  and 
ridges  of  snow  piled  in  curiously  fantastic  shapes. 
But  the  keen  wind  of  the  afternoon  and  night  had 
cleared  many  long  reaches  of  the  ice,  and  over 
these  reaches  Uncle  Barney  picked  his  way,  grad 
ually  working  closer  and  closer  to  the  upper  end 
of  Snowshoe  Island. 

"We'll  turn  in  here,"  he  announced  presently, 


THE   FIRST   NIGHT    ON    THE   ISLAND    225 

when  they  came  to  where  there  was  something  of 
a  cove.  "There  seems  to  be  quite  a  cleared  space. 
It  won't  be  very  long  now  before  we  reach  the 
upper  end." 

As  they  turned  in  once  more  toward  the  island, 
Jack  noticed  a  peculiar  fluttering  among  some 
trees  not  far  away. 

"Wait  a  minute!"  he  cried  out  in  a  low  tone. 
"I  think  I  see  some  game!" 

All  came  to  a  halt,  and  then  Uncle  Barney 
looked  in  the  direction  to  which  the  oldest  Rover 
boy  pointed. 

"You  are  right,  my  lad,"  answered  the  old  lum 
berman.  "There  is  a  fine  chance  for  all  of  you." 

"What  are  they?"  questioned  Fred  a  trifle  ex 
citedly. 

"Wild  turkeys !  And  the  best  kind  of  eating — 
if  you  can  only  get  close  enough  to  bring  them 
down." 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

UNEXPECTED   VISITORS 

"On,  say !  we've  got  to  bring  down  at  least  one 
of  those  wild  turkeys !"  cried  Andy. 

"Keep  quiet,"  admonished  Jack,  speaking  in  a 
whisper.  "If  those  turkeys  hear  you  they'll  be 
gone  in  a  jiffy." 

"I  didn't  know  there  were  any  wild  turkeys 
around  here,"  remarked  Randy.  "I  thought  they 
had  been  all  cleaned  out  long  ago." 

"They  are  getting  very  scarce,"  answered  Uncle 
Barney,  "but  once  in  a  while  you  will  see  a  small 
flock  of  them.  I  was  after  that  flock  about  a  week 
ago,  but  they  got  away  from  me.  I've  a  notion 
that  it's  about  the  last  flock  in  this  district." 

While  this  talk  was  going  on  in  low  tones  of 
voi£e,  all  of  the  Rovers  had  abandoned  the  bob 
sled  and  were  moving  toward  the  shore  of  the 
island. 

"You  had  better  come  this  way  and  crawl  up 
in  the  shelter  of  yonder  rocks  and  brushwood," 
advised  Uncle  Barney.  "And  don't  shoot  until 
226 


UNEXPECTED    VISITORS  227 

you  have  a  good  aim  and  know  what  you're  shoot 
ing  at,"  he  concluded. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  all  of  the  boys  were 
somewhat  excited  over  the  prospect  ahead.  They 
caught  only  a  brief  glance  at  the  game,  but  felt 
certain  that  it  was  close  at  hand. 

"Wild  turkeys  are  a  good  sight  better  than  rab 
bits  or  squirrels,  or  even  pheasants,"  said  Fred. 
"They'll  make  dandy  eating." 

"Don't  eat  them  until  after  you  have  shot 
them,  Fred,"  remarked  Andy  dryly. 

"Hush,"  warned  Jack.  "Now,  make  as  little 
noise  as  possible,  and  each  of  you  hold  his  gun 
ready  for  use." 

They  had  not  stopped  to  take  off  their  skates, 
but  this  was  unnecessary,  for  the  snow  was  deep 
and  the  skates  merely  kept  them  from  slipping. 
They  pushed  on  around  some  large  rocks,  and 
then  in  between  the  thick  brushwood,  where  the 
snow  fell  upon  their  heads  and  shoulders,  cover 
ing  them  with  white — something  which  was  to 
their  advantage,  as  it  aided  them  in  hiding  them 
selves  from  the  game.  Not  far  away  they  could 
hear  the  wild  turkeys,  one  in  particular  giving  the 
peculiar  gobble  by  which  they  are  well  known. 

"I  see  them,"  whispered  Fred  a  minute  later, 
and  pointed  with  his  gun. 

There  in  a  little  clearing  some  distance  ahead 


228    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

was  a  tall  and  long  turkey  gobbler  surrounded  by 
a  number  of  hens.  They  were  plump  and  of  a 
peculiar  black  and  bronzed  color. 

"Let's  all  fire  together.  Maybe  we  can  bring 
down  the  whole  flock !"  exclaimed  Randy,  and  his 
manner  showed  that  he  was  growing  quite  ex 
cited. 

"All  right — I'm  willing,"  answered  Jack.  "But 
let  us  see  if  we  can't  get  a  little  nearer  first." 

"Maybe  if  we  try  to  get  closer  they'll  get  away 
from  us,"  said  Andy. 

"Keep  your  guns  pointed  at  them,  and  if 
they  start  to  leave  fire  as  quickly  as  you  can,"  an 
swered  Jack,  and  then  he  moved  forward  with 
his  cousins  ranged  on  either  side  of  him. 

The  Rover  boys  had  advanced  but  a  few  paces 
when  the  wild  turkeys  caught  sight  of  them.  The 
turkey  cock  issued  a  loud  note  of  alarm,  and  all 
started  to  fly  from  the  low  bushes  upon  which 
they  had  been  resting. 

"Fire !"  yelled  Jack,  and  discharged  his  rifle. 

The  crack  of  this  weapon  was  followed  by  the 
report  of  Fred's  shotgun,  and  then  the  twins  also 
let  drive.  Then  Fred  fired  again,  and  so  did  some 
of  the  others. 

At  the  first  report  the  turkey  cock  was  seen  to 
rise  in  the  air,  followed  by  some  of  the  hens,  while 
two  hens  dropped  lifeless  in  the  snow.  The 


UNEXPECTED    VISITORS 


229 


key  cock,  however,  was  seriously  wounded  and 
fluttered  around  in  a  circle. 

"Give  him  another  shot!"  yelled  Fred,  whose 
gun  was  empty;  and  thereupon  Jack  and  Randy 
fired  and  the  gobbler  fell  directly  at  their  feet. 
He  was  not  yet  dead,  but  they  quickly  put  him  out 
of  his  misery  by  wringing  his  neck.  By  this  time 
the  hens  which  had  flown  away  were  out  of  sight. 

"Two  hens  and  one  gobbler !"  cried  Jack,  as  he 
surveyed  the  game.  "I  think  we  can  congratulate 
ourselves  on  this  haul." 

"You  certainly  can !"  exclaimed  Uncle  Barney, 
as  he  plowed  up  behind  the  boys.  "Wild  turkeys 
are  no  mean  game  to  bring  down,  let  me  tell  you ! 
I've  tried  time  and  again  to  get  a  turkey,  and 
somehow  or  other  it  would  always  get  away  from 
me." 

"Some  size  to  this  gobbler!"  remarked  Fred. 
"And  some  weight,  too,"  he  added,  as  he  picked 
the  turkey  cock  up  by  the  legs. 

"He'll  weigh  sixteen  or  eighteen  pounds  at 
least,"  said  the  old  lumberman,  as  he  took  the 
turkey  cock  from  the  youngest  Rover  boy  and 
held  the  game  out  in  both  hands.  "Yes,  sir !  every 
bit  of  eighteen — and  he  may  go  twenty.  You'll 
have  a  dandy  meal  off  of  him." 

"I  know  what  I'd  like  to  do,"  said  Randy  wist 
fully.  "I'd  like  to  send  him  home  to  the  folks." 


230    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"That's  the  talk!"  returned  his  twin.  "Why 
can't  we  do  it  ?" 

"I'm  willing,"  answered  Jack.  "The  express 
company  ought  to  know  how  to  pack  game  like 
that  so  it  will  carry  properly." 

"They'll  pack  anything  you  want  them  to  down 
at  the  railroad  station,"  said  Uncle  Barney. 
"There  is  a  man  there  who  makes  a  specialty  of 
that  sort  of  thing  for  hunters.  He'll  see  that  the 
turkey  reaches  your  folks  in  New  York  in  first- 
class  shape." 

"We  can  send  the  gobbler  home  and  keep  the 
two  hens,"  said  Fred.  "That  will  make  eating 
enough  for  us,  I'm  sure.  They  must  weigh  at 
least  seven  or  eight  pounds  apiece." 

"All  of  that,"  came  from  the  old  lumberman. 

Much  elated  over  the  success  of  their  first 
effort  at  hunting  on  Snowshoe  Island,  the  Rovers 
picked  up  the  game  and  made  their  way  back  to 
where  they  had  left  the  bobsled.  They  placed  the 
turkeys  on  the  sled,  and  then  resumed  their  jour 
ney  once  more. 

"We're  coming  up  to  the  end  of  the  island 
now,"  announced  Barney  Stevenson  presently,  and 
a  minute  later  they  made  a  turn  around  some  trees 
lining  the  shore  and  came  into  view  of  a  cleared 
spot,  containing  a  small  boat-landing.  Beyond 
the  cleared  spot,  backed  up  by  some  tall  pines  and 


UNEXPECTED   VISITottS  231 

hemlocks,  were  two  fair-sized  cabins,  standing 
about  a  hundred  feet  apart. 

"That's  the  cabin  I  use,"  explained  the  old  lum 
berman,  pointing  to  the  building  on  the  right. 
"The  other  is  the  one  you  can  make  yourselves  at 
home  in." 

The  setting  for  the  two  cabins  was  an  ideal  one, 
and  the  boys  could  well  imagine  how  beautiful 
the  place  must  look  in  the  summer  time  with  the 
green  trees,  and  the  cleared  space  sloping  down 
to  the  great  lake.  Now,  of  course,  the  ground,  as 
well  as  the  trees  and  brushwood,  was  heavily  cov 
ered  with  snow,  and  the  snow  hung  down  off  the 
rough  roof  of  each  cabin. 

"I'll  take  you  directly  over  to  the  cabin  you  are 
to  occupy,"  said  Uncle  Barney.  "I've  got  it  all 
in  shape  for  you,  with  plenty  of  firewood  and  ev 
erything." 

He  led  the  way,  and  they  followed,  dragging  the 
bobsled  behind  them.  The  door  to  the  cabin  had 
been  locked,  for  the  old  lumberman  stated  that 
he  did  not  wish  any  outside  hunters  or  other  peo 
ple  to  take  possession  during  his  absence. 

"Of  course,  a  good  many  of  the  hunters  and 
lumberman  are  my  friends,"  he  explained.  "But 
then  there  are  often  strangers,  and  some  of  those 
fellows  wouldn't  be  above  carrying  off  anything 
that  suited  their  fancy." 


232 

The  boys  gave  cries  of  delight  when  he  took 
them  into  the  cabin  which  they  were  to  occupy 
during  their  stay  on  the  island.  They  found  it  a 
fairly  large  place,  divided  into  two  rooms,  one  a 
general  living-room  and  the  other  a  sleeping 
apartment.  In  the  former  was  located  a  fairly 
well-made  table,  a  couple  of  benches,  and  also  a 
swinging  shelf,  containing  quite  an  assortment  of 
dishes,  while  at  one  side  there  was  a  big  open  fire 
place,  and  in  a  corner  a  small  closet  furnished 
with  numerous  kitchen  utensils. 

The  other  apartment  contained  three  regular 
bunks  and  a  temporary  one  put  in  for  the  occa 
sion  ;  and  these  bunks  were  well  spread  with  fresh 
pine  boughs  and  camp  blankets.  The  opening 
from  one  room  into  the  next  was  so  located  that 
the  warmth  from  the  fire  in  the  living-room  could 
easily  reach  the  sleeping  apartment. 

"Say,  this  is  bang-up!"  exclaimed  Randy. 

"It's  the  best  ever !"  echoed  Fred. 

"It's  a  peach !"  was  Andy's  comment. 

"I  certainly  didn't  expect  anything  half  as  good 
as  this,  Uncle  Barney,"  remarked  Jack,  his  eyes 
showing  his  pleasure.  "If  we  don't  have  a  good 
time  here,  it  certainly  won't  be  your  fault." 

"Then  you  really  like  it,  do  you,  boys  ?"  asked 
the  old  lumberman  anxiously. 

"I  certainly  don't  know  how  it  could  be  better," 


UNEXPECTED   VISITORS 


233 


remarked  Randy.  "And  just  look  at  the  dishes 
and  things  to  cook  with !" 

"And  these  fine  bunks !"  exclaimed  his  twin,  sit 
ting  down  on  one.  "Why,  this  is  just  as  good  as 
a  hair  mattress !" 

"And  how  sweet  the  pine  boughs  smell !"  mur 
mured  Fred. 

"If  you  boys  want  to  send  that  turkey  cock 
home,  you  had  better  let  me  take  it  down  to  Rock- 
ville  to-day,"  said  the  old  lumberman.  "I  won't 
mind  the  trip  at  all,"  he  added,  as  he  saw  that 
some  of  them  were  going  to  remonstrate.  "Fact 
is,  I  forgot  to  get  some  of  the  things  I  was  going 
to  buy  yesterday.  So  if  you'll  just  make  your 
selves  at  home  here,  I'll  go  down  there  and  be  back 
some  time  before  nightfall." 

"Don't  you  want  to  wait  until  after  dinner?" 
questioned  Jack. 

"No.  I'll  get  something  to  eat  while  I'm  in 
town." 

The  matter  was  talked  over,  and  it  was  finally 
arranged  that  Barney  Stevenson  should  return 
to  Rockville  with  the  turkey  cock  and  have  it 
shipped  by  express  to  the  Rover  boys'  folks  in 
New  York.  Jack  wrote  out  a  card,  which  was 
to  be  sent  with  the  game,  and  also  another  card 
to  be  tacked  on  the  box  in  which  it  was  to  be 
shipped.  Then  the  old  lumberman  hurried  over 


234    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

to  his  own  cabin  to  get  ready  for  the  journey. 

"Won't  our  folks  be  surprised  when  they  get 
that  box!"  exclaimed  Fred.  "I  wish  I  could  be 
there  to  see  them." 

"They'll  know  we  didn't  lose  any  time  going 
hunting,"  added  Andy,  with  a  happy  laugh. 

When  the  old  hunter  had  departed  with  the  tur 
key  cock,  the  boys  hung  up  the  dead  hens  and 
then  proceeded  to  make  themselves  at  home  in  the 
cabin  which  had  been  assigned  to  them.  They  had 
quite  something  to  do  to  build  a  fire  and  to  un 
pack  and  stow  away  the  various  things  which 
they  had  brought  along,  and  almost  before  they 
were  aware  it  was  time  for  dinner. 

"Shall  we  eat  the  game  to-day?"  questioned 
Randy. 

"Oh,  let  us  wait  until  to-morrow.  Then  Uncle 
Barney  will  be  with  us,  and  he  can  enjoy  it,  too," 
answered  Jack,  and  so  it  was  decided.  Then  the 
boys  started  in  to  get  such  a  meal  as  their  stores 
and  the  things  which  the  old  lumberman  had 
turned  over  to  them  provided. 

It  was  great  fun,  and  all  of  them  felt  in  the 
best  of  spirits.  Andy  could  hardly  keep  himself 
down,  and  had  to  whistle  at  the  top  of  his  lungs, 
and  even  do  a  jig  or  two  while  he  moved  about. 

"It's  going  to  be  the  best  outing  ever!"  he  de 
clared  over  and  over  again. 


UNEXPECTED   VISITORS  235 

"Yes,  and  won't  we  have  something  to  tell 
when  we  get  back  to  Colby  Hall!"  put  in  Fred. 

It  was  over  an  hour  later  before  dinner  was 
ready.  Having  had  such  an  early  breakfast,  the 
boys  did  full  justice  to  all  the  things  they  had 
cooked,  and  they  spent  quite  some  time  over  the 
meal.  After  that  they  continued  to  put  the  cabin 
in  order,  and  cleaned  their  skates,  and  also  looked 
over  their  guns. 

"We'll  have  to  try  these  snowshoes  to-mor 
row,"  announced  Jack,  referring  to  a  number  of 
such  articles  which  Barney  Stevenson  had  hung 
on  the  walls  of  the  cabin.  "Maybe  we'll  almost 
break  our  necks  at  first,  but  there  is  nothing  like 
getting  used  to  a  thing." 

"What  do  you  mean?  Getting  used  to  break 
ing  your  neck?"  questioned  Andy  dryly,  and  this 
brought  forth  a  laugh  all  around. 

About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  the  boys 
found  themselves  with  but  little  to  do,  and  Fred 
suggested  that  they  .might  go  out  and  look  for 
more  game. 

"Oh,  let's  take  it  easy  for  the  rest  of  the  day, 
and  go  out  early  in  the  morning,"  cried  Randy. 

"Let  us  go  over  to  the  other  cabin  and  take  a 
look  around,"  suggested  Andy.  "I'm  sure  old 
Uncle  Barney  won't  mind.  He's  a  fine  old  gentle 
man,  even  though  he  is  rather  peculiar." 


236    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  INLAND 

"I  want  to  talk  to  him  about  Ruth  Stevenson's 
folks  some  time,"  said  Jack ;  "but  I'm  afraid  I'm 
going  to  have  a  hard  time  getting  at  it." 

Andy  led  the  way  out  of  the  cabin,  and  the  four 
boys  had  almost  reached  the  place  used  by  the 
old  lumberman  when  suddenly  Fred  gave  a  cry. 

"Here  come  two  men  from  the  lake !" 

"Maybe  it's  Uncle  Barney  coming  back  with 
one  of  his  friends,"  said  Andy. 

"No ;  neither  of  the  men  walks  like  the  old  lum 
berman,"  announced  his  twin. 

"One  of  those  men  looks  familiar  to  me,"  burst 
out  Jack.  He  gazed  intently  at  the  advancing 
pair. 

"There  are  two  others  behind  them,"  broke  in 
Pred.  "Young  fellows,  I  think." 

"One  of  those  men  is  Professor  Lemm !"  cried 
Jack. 

"And  the  two  fellows  in  the  rear  are  Slugger 
Brown  and  Nappy  Martell !"  added  Fred. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

A   WAR  OF   WORDS 

THE  knowledge  that  Professor  Lemm,  Slug 
ger  Brown  and  Nappy  Martell  were  approaching 
the  cabins  on  the  upper  end  of  Snowshoe  Island 
filled  the  Rover  boys  with  wonder. 

"Professor  Lemm  must  have  come  to  see  Uncle 
Barney  about  those  deeds,"  remarked  Randy. 

"I  wonder  if  that  is  Slugger's  father  with  him?" 
broke  in  Fred. 

"Maybe,"  answered  Jack.  "Those  men  were 
the  only  two  who  were  interested  in  getting  pos 
session  of  this  island." 

"I'll  tell  you  what  I  think  we  ought  to  do!" 
exclaimed  Andy. 

"What?"  came  from  the  others  quickly. 

"I  think  we  ought  to  go  back  to  our  own  cabin 
and  arm  ourselves." 

"That  might  not  be  such  a  bad  idea,  Andy,"  re 
turned  Jack.  "Those  men,  backed  up  by  Slugger 
and  Nappy,  may  want  to  carry  things  with  a  high 
hand." 


238    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

Acting  on  Andy's  suggestion,  the  four  boys  re 
treated  to  the  cabin  which  they  had  just  left,  and 
each  took  possession  of  his  weapon. 

"I  don't  think  they'll  try  much  rough-house 
work  when  they  see  how  we  are  armed,"  re 
marked  Randy  grimly. 

"Of  course,  we  don't  want  to  do  any  shooting," 
cautioned  Jack.  "We  only  want  to  scare  them, 
in  case  they  go  too  far." 

"Jack,  you  had  better  be  the  spokesman  for  the 
crowd,"  remarked  Randy.  "You  go  ahead  and 
talk  to  them,  and  we'll  stand  back  with  our  guns." 

Still  holding  his  rifle,  Jack  went  forward  again, 
and  in  a  moment  more  found  himself  confronted 
by  Asa  Lemm  and  the  man  who  was  with  him. 

"Rover !  Is  it  possible !"  exclaimed  the  former 
teacher  of  Colby  Hall  in  astonishment.  "What 
are  you  doing  here?" 

"I  and  my  cousins  are  here  to  hunt." 

"Humph !  I  didn't  know  old  Stevenson  allowed 
anybody  to  do  hunting  around  here." 

"Maybe  they  are  hunting  here  without  the  old 
man's  permission,"  suggested  the  other  man. 
"Where  is  Barney  Stevenson?"  he  demanded  of 
Jack. 

"Mr.  Stevenson  has  gone  over  to  Rockville  on 
an  errand,"  was  the  reply. 

By  this  time  Slugger  and  Nappy  had  come  up, 


A    WAR    OF    WORDS  2y) 

and  they  stared  at  Jack  and  his  cousins  as  if  they 
could  not  believe  the  evidences  of  their  senses. 

"Well,  what  do  you  know  about  this!"  burst 
out  the  former  bully  of  Colby  Hall. 

"All  of  those  Rovers  up  here,  and  armed!" 
cane  from  Nappy. 

"Who  gave  you  the  right  to  come  to  this  is 
land  ?"  went  on  the  bully,  glaring  at  Jack. 

"Do  you  know  these  boys?"  queried  the  man 
who  was  with  Professor  Lemm. 

"Sure,  Dad,  I  know  them !  They  are  the  Rover 
boys  I  told  you  about — the  fellows  who  helped 
to  have  me  and  Nappy  sent  away  from  school." 

"Oh,  so  that's  it!"  cried  Slogwell  Brown. 
"Did  you  have  any  idea  they  might  be  up  here?" 
he  questioned  quickly. 

"Not  the  least,  Dad.  I  thought  they  were  down 
in  New  York.  Nappy  aaid  he  had  seen  them  on 
the  ice  in  Central  Park." 

"I  did  see  them,  too,"  answered  the  lad  men 
tioned. 

"Well,  we  didn't  come  here  to  see  you  Rovers," 
broke  in  Asa  Lemm  stiffly.  "Not  but  what  I  have 
an  account  to  settle  with  you,"  he  continued  sig 
nificantly. 

"We  want  nothing  more  to  do  with  you,  Pro 
fessor  Lemm,"  answered  Jack  boldly. 

"But  I'm  going  to  have  something  to  do  with 


240    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

you,  young  man !"  stormed  the  former  teacher  of 
the  Hall,  beginning  to  show  his  usual  ill  humor. 

"Never  mind  these  boys  now,  Lemm,"  inter 
posed  Slogwell  Brown.  "We  want  to  fix  up  our 
business  with  old  Stevenson  first." 

"If  you  have  anything  to  say  to  Mr.  Stevenson, 
you'll  have  to  come  when  he  is  here,"  answered 
Jack. 

"When  do  you  expect  him  back  ?" 

"I  don't  know  exactly  when  he  will  come — 
probably  before  nightfall." 

"Then,  all  we  can  do  is  to  wait  for  him," 
grumbled  Slogwell  Brown. 

"If  we  have  to  wait,  we  might  as  well  go  inside 
his  cabin  and  do  it,"  suggested  Nappy.  "It's  too 
cold  to  stay  out  here." 

"Yes,  and  I'm  all  tired  out  from  wading 
through  those  snowdrifts,"  added  Slugger.  He 
looked  past  Jack  at  the  other  Rover  boys.  "Had 
any  luck  hunting?" 

For  the  moment  there  was  no  reply.  Then 
Randy  stepped  forward. 

"I  don't  know  as  that  is  any  of  your  business, 
Slugger,"  he  replied  coldly. 

"Oh,  say !  you  needn't  get  on  your  high-horse," 
growled  the  bully.  "What  Nappy  and  I  ought  to 
do  is  to  pitch  into  you  for  having  us  fired  out 
of  the  Hall." 


A    WAR    OF    WORDS 


241 


"You  stay  right  where  you  are!"  cried  Fred. 

"Humph !  you  think  you've  got  the  best  of  us 
with  those  guns,  don't  you?"  came  from  Nappy, 
who  had  ranged  up  beside  Slugger. 

"Never  mind  what  we  think,"  answered  Andy. 
"If  you  know  when  you're  well  off,  you'll  keep 
your  distance.'* 

"See  here!  you  boys  needn't  get  too  fresh," 
came  harshly  from  Slogwell  Brown.  "I've  heard 
all  about  your  doings  at  Colby  Hall,  and  how  you 
got  the  professor,  here,  and  my  son  and  his  chum 
into  trouble.  Some  day  I  intend  to  make  you  suf 
fer  for  that.  But  just  now  we  are  here  on  a  dif 
ferent  errand." 

"We're  going  to  put  old  Stevenson  off  this 
island  and  take  possession !"  cried  Nappy  triumph 
antly.  "And  then,  when  he  goes,  you  can  go, 
too!" 

"Why  cannot  we  take  possession  of  these  two 
cabins  at  once?"  suggested  Asa  Lemm.  "The  is 
land  belongs  to  us,  and  we  have  a  perfect  right  to 
do  so." 

"Of  course  we  can  take  possession,"  answered 
Slogwell  Brown.  "Remember — possession  is  nine 
points  of  the  law,"  he  added,  in  a  low  tone  of 
voice. 

"We'll  show  old  Stevenson  where  he  belongs," 
growled  Slugger. 


242    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Yes,  and  we'll  show  these  Rover  boys  where 
they  belong,  too,"  put  in  Nappy,  his  eyes  snap 
ping  viciously. 

Without  further  ado,  the  whole  party  started 
toward  the  cabin  which  was  Barney  Stevenson's 
home.  Evidently  the  men  had  been  there  before, 
and  knew  that  this  was  the  right  building  of  the 
two. 

"Oh,  Jack !  are  you  going  to  let  them  take  pos 
session?"  questioned  Fred,  in  a  low  voice. 

"What  do  you  fellows  think  we  ought  to  do?" 
queried  the  oldest  Rover  boy  quickly. 

"I  think  we  ought  to  make  them  keep  out  until 
Uncle  Barney  gets  back,"  answered  Randy. 

"That's  my  idea,  too,"  added  his  twin. 

"They  may  have  the  right  to  this  island,  but 
I'd  make  them  fight  it  out  with  Mr.  Stevenson," 
was  Fred's  comment. 

"That's  just  the  way  I  look  at  it,  too,"  an- 
swertd  Jack.  "Come  on,  Randy ;  we'll  guard  that 
cabin  while  Andy  and  Fred  can  remain  here  to 
guard  this  place." 

"Would  you  dare  to  shoot  at  them?"  ques 
tioned  Fred  anxiously. 

"I  don't  think  there  will  be  any  necessity  for 
shooting,  Fred.  I  think  if  we  merely  show  we 
mean  business  they  will  keep  their  distance." 

The  boys  exchanged  a  few  more  words,  and 


A    WAR    OF    WORDS 


243 


then  Jack  and  Randy  set  off  on  a  run  for  the 
cabin  occupied  by  Uncle  Barney.  They  outdis 
tanced  the  visitors,  and  soon  placed  themselves 
in  the  doorway. 

"Now,  you  keep  back!"  cried  Jack  warningly. 
"Don't  come  near  this  place  until  Mr.  Stevenson 
returns !" 

"Ha!  do  you  dare  to  threaten  me?"  burst  out 
Slogwell  Brown  in  amazement. 

"You  heard  what  I  said." 

"Every  one  of  you  keep  away  from  here,"  put 
in  Randy. 

"See  here,  Rover!"  commenced  Asa  Lemm. 
"This  is  outrageous!  We  own  this  island,  and 
we  intend  to  take  possession." 

"Whether  you  own  it  or  not,  you  are  not  go 
ing  to  take  possession  of  anything  until  after 
Mr.  Stevenson  gets  here,"  answered  Jack,  as 
calmly  as  he  could.  "I  don't  know  anything  about 
your  claim.  As  far  as  I  do  know,  Mr.  Stevenson 
is  the  owner  of  this  place.  He  left  us  in  charge 
when  he  went  away,  and  we  are  going  to  remain 
in  charge  until  he  gets  back." 

"Huh!  do  you  think  we're  going  to  stay  out 
in  this  cold?"  grumbled  Slugger. 

"I  don't  care  what  you  do,"  answered  Jack. 
"You  can't  come  into  either  of  these  cabins — and 
that's  final!" 


244    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"We'll  see  about  that!"  stormed  Nappy,  and 
advanced  several  steps. 

"Get  back  there,"  ordered  Jack  sternly,  and 
made  a  movement  as  if  to  raise  his  rifle. 

"Stop!  Stop!  Don't  shoot!"  yelled  Asa 
Lemm,  in  sudden  fright.  "Keep  back,  boys,  or 
they'll  certainly  shoot  at  us !"  and  he  began  to  re 
treat. 

"Do  you  dare  to  threaten  us  ?"  questioned  Slog- 
well  Brown  and  the  tone  of  his  voice  showed  his 
uneasiness.  A  glance  over  his  shoulder  had  shown 
him  the  other  two  boys  at  the  doorway  of  the 
second  cabin,  and  also  armed. 

"I'm  telling  you  to  keep  away  from  here — that's 
all,"  answered  Jack.  "You  can  come  back  when 
Mr.  Stevenson  returns." 

"I — I  think  maybe  it  would  be  better  for  us 
to  retire,"  stammered  Professor  Lemm.  "We — 
er — don't  want  to  run  the  risk  of  being  shot. 
Those  boys  are  very  hot-headed,  and  there  is  no 
telling  what  they  might  do  if  we  exasperated 
them." 

"I'm  not  going  to  give  in  to  a  bunch  of  school 
boys !"  stormed  Slogwell  Brown,  who,  in  his  man 
ner,  was  ever}'-  bit  as  much  of  a  bully  as  his  son. 

"But  if  they  should  shoot  at  us " 

"I  don't  think  they've  got  the  nerve  to  do  it. 
They  are  only  putting  up  a  big  bluff." 


A    WAR    OF    WORDS  24$ 

"Don't  you  be  too  sure  about  that,"  put  in 
Nappy,  who  was  just  as  much  scared  as  was  the 
professor.  "Those  Rover  boys  are  game  to  do 
almost  anything  when  they  are  aroused." 

"We've  got  to  remember  one  thing,"  came  from 
Slugger.  "There  are  four  of  them,  and  each  of 
'em  has  got  a  gun." 

"I  wish  I  had  brought  a  gun  along  myself," 
said  his  crony. 

"We  should  have  armed  ourselves,"  grumbled 
Slogwell  Brown.  "It  was  a  mistake  to  come  over 
to  this  island  without  so  much  as  a  pistol.  If  I 
only  had  some  sort  of  a  weapon,  I'd  show  those 
boys  a  thing  or  two." 

"Maybe  we  can  get  into  the  cabin  by  a  back 
"way,"  suggested  Nappy. 

"Say/that's  an  idea !"  cried  his  crony.  "And  if 
we  can  do  that,  maybe  there's  a  gun  or  a  pistol 
inside  that  we  can  use." 

"You  boys  can  take  a  walk  around  to  the  rear 
if  you  want  to,"  answered  Slugger's  father.  "I'll 
see  if  I  can't  bluff  those  fellows  into  letting  us 
in  at  the  front." 

Slugger  and  Nappy  had  just  started  to  move 
away  toward  the  lake  shore,  intending  to  sneak 
behind  some  rocks  and  bushes,  when  they  heard 
Fred  give  a  loud  shout  from  the  entrance  to  the 
second  cabin.  Then  Andy  gave  a  long  whistle. 


246    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"What's  that  for?"  questioned  Nappy  quickly. 

"See!  they  are  waving  their  hands  to  some 
body,"  announced  Slugger.  He  turned  to  gaze 
out  over  the  lake.  "A  man  is  coming." 

"What  do  you  bet  it  isn't  old  Stevenson?" 

"It  it!     See,  he's  coming  as  fast  as  he  can!" 

"Yes,  and  he  has  his  gun  with  him,"  announced 
Asa  Lemm  somewhat  feebly. 

Attracted  by  the  call  from  Fred  and  the  loud 
whistle  given  by  Andy,  the  old  lumberman  had 
noted  that  a  number  of  visitors  were  standing  in 
front  of  the  two  cabins  at  the  upper  end  of  Snow- 
shoe  Island.  He  was  still  a  considerable  distance 
out  on  the  lake,  but  his  rapid  skate  strokes  soon 
brought  him  to  the  shore.  Then,  without  waiting 
to  unstrap  his  skates,  he  came  forward  through 
the  snow,  his  shotgun  ready  for  use. 

"Well,  I'm  mighty  glad  he's  got  here,"  mur 
mured  Jack,  and  his  cousins  echoed  the  sentiment 


CHAPTER  XXV 

FACING  THE  WOLVES 

"So  this  is  how  you  treat  me,  eh?"  exclaimed 
old  Barney  Stevenson,  as  he  confronted  the  visi 
tors.  "Come  here  to  do  as  you  please  while  I'm 
away,  eh?"  and  his  face  showed  his  intense  dis 
pleasure. 

"They  wanted  to  go  into  your  cabin,  but  we 
wouldn't  let  them  do  it  while  you  were  away," 
said  Jack  quickly. 

"Good  for  you,  boys — I'm  glad  you  kept  'em 
out" 

"See  here,  Stevenson,  this  nonsense  has  got  to 
end !"  cried  Slogwell  Brown.  "You  know  as  well 
as  I  do  that  you  have  no  valid  claim  to  this  is 
land." 

"The  island  belongs  to  me,  Brown,  and  I  in 
tend  to  keep  it!"  was  the  quick  reply.  "I've  got 
my  deed  for  it" 

"That  deed  is  no  good,  and  you  know  it,"  broke 
in  Asa  Lemm. 

"Look  here !  if  you  are  so  sure  that  Mr.  Steven- 
247 


248    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

son  is  in  the  wrong,  why  don't  you  go  to  law 
about  it?"  questioned  Jack,  struck  by  a  sudden 
idea. 

"See  here,  boy,  this  is  none  of  your  affair," 
growled  Slogwell  Brown.  "We'll  conduct  our 
own  business  in  our  own  way." 

"And  I'll  conduct  my  own  business  in  my  own 
way,  too!"  interposed  Uncle  Barney.  "You  get 
off  of  this  island — all  of  you — just  as  quick  as 
you  can,"  and  he  started  as  if  to  raise  his  gun. 

"Now,  see  here,  Stevenson "  began  Slog- 
well  Brown. 

"We  have  rights "  came  from  Asa  Lemm. 

"I've  listened  to  you  before.  I'm  not  going  to 
listen  again!"  interrupted  the  old  lumberman. 
"You  haven't  any  right  on  this  island,  and  I'm 
ordering  you — every  one  of  you — to  get  off  just 
as  soon  as  you  can.  You're  trespassers — nothing 
else!"  and  now  he  raised  his  gun  as  if  getting 
ready  to  shoot. 

"Come  on,  let  us  go  back!"  cried  Professor 
Lemm  in  sudden  terror,  and  he  retreated  several 
steps,  followed  by  Slugger  and  Nappy. 

"See  here,  Stevenson,  you'll  be  sorry  for  this 
some  day,"  growled  Slogwell  Brown.  He  had 
still  too  much  of  the  fight  left  in  him  to  retreat, 
and  yet  he  was  not  brave  enough  to  advance. 

"I'll  take  my  chances!"  returned  Uncle  Bar- 


FACING  THE  WOLVES 


249 


ney.  "I've  got  those  deeds,  and  I  know  they 
are  all  O.  K.  Now,  you  clear  out — and  don't 
you  dare  to  come  here  again !" 

"Why  won't  you  let  me  see  those  deeds  ?"  ques 
tioned  the  other  man. 

"Because  I  won't — that's  why!" 

"I  came  on  purpose  to  look  them  over  and  show 
you  your  mistake." 

"Maybe  he  hasn't  got  any  deeds,"  came  from 
Nappy,  who  had  fallen  back  still  further. 

"I've  got  those  deeds  safe  and  sound — in  a  box 
— and  put  away  where  you  fellows  can't  find  'em !" 
answered  the  old  lumberman  triumphantly. 
"Now  you  get  out!  I'll  give  you  just  five  min 
utes  to  do  it  in.  Jack,  you  time  'em,  will  you?" 
and  he  glanced  at  the  oldest  Rover  boy. 

"Sure,  I  will!"  was  the  ready  reply,  and  Jack 
pulled  out  his  watch.  "It's  now  exactly  twelve 
minutes  past  four." 

"All  right.  Then  you've  got  until  seventeen 
minutes  after  four  to  get  off  of  this  island,"  an 
nounced  Barney  Stevenson  to  the  visitors.  "If 
you  are  not  off  by  that  time,  there'll  most  likely 
be  some  shooting  around  here." 

He  had  taken  his  place  in  front  of  his  cabin, 
and  all  of  the  boys  were  now  ranged  beside  him. 
As  each  was  armed,  they  made  quite  a  formidable 
looking  firing  squad. 


250    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

Much  against  his  will,  Slogwell  Brown  re 
treated  to  where  Professor  Lemm  and  the  others 
of  the  crowd  stood.  The  four  talked  matters 
over  in  a  low  tone. 

"It's  too  bad  we  came  here  unarmed,"  grumbled 
Slogwell  Brown. 

"That's  just  what  I  say,  Dad!"  answered  his 
son.  "Let's  go  back  and  get  some  guns  and  pis 
tols." 

"No!  no!  We  don't  want  any  shooting!"  cried 
Asa  Lemm  in  new  alarm. 

"I'm  not  going  to  get  mixed  up  in  any  gun 
play,"  added  Nappy. 

"If  we  could  only  get  possession  of  those 
deeds!"  went  on  the  former  teacher  of  Colby 
Hall. 

"I've  got  a  plan,"  suggested  Nappy,  after  a 
moment's  pause.  "Come  on,  let's  go  away  now, 
and  I'll  tell  you  what  it  is." 

Growling  and  grumbling,  the  four  visitors 
made  their  way  slowly  to  the  lake  shore.  As  they 
skated  off,  Slugger  Brown  turned  to  shake  his 
first  at  the  Rovers,  and  Nappy  did  likewise. 

"Well,  they've  gone !"  exclaimed  Fred,  and  his 
voice  showed  his  relief. 

"But  there's  no  telling  when  they'll  come  back," 
said  Randy  quickly. 

"I  don't  think  they'll  come  back  in  a  hurry," 


FACING  THE  WOLVES  251 

broke  in  Andy.  "We  scared  them  pretty  thor 
oughly  with  our  guns." 

"What  did  they  say  to  you  before  I  came?" 
questioned  Uncle  Barney,  while  the  party  on  the 
lake  was  disappearing  in  the  gloom. 

Thereupon  the  boys  related  the  particulars  of 
all  that  had  taken  place,  the  old  lumberman  lis 
tening  closely  to  the  recital.  At  the  end,  he  shut 
his  teeth  and  shook  his  head  grimly. 

"The  rascals!"  he  ejaculated.  "If  it  hadn't 
been  for  you,  they  would  most  likely  have  ran- 
racked  both  of  the  cabins,  and  maybe,  if  they  had 
gotten  hold  of  my  extra  gun  or  my  pistol,  taken 
possession  and  made  me  keep  away." 

"Oh,  they  would  have  taken  possession  all 
right  enough !"  cried  Jack.  "But  if  the  island  is 
really  yours,  Uncle  Barney,  I  don't  see  why  you 
couldn't  have  had  them  arrested  for  anything  like 
that." 

"I  told  you  before — I  have  no  use  for  lawyers 
or  law  courts,"  grumbled  the  old  lumberman. 
"All  I  want  to  do  is  to  stay  here  and  not  be  dis 
turbed.  I've  got  my  deeds,  and  that's  enough." 

"Are  you  sure  they  are  in  a  safe  place?"  ques 
tioned  Jack.  "I  mean,  some  place  where  those 
rascals  can't  get  at  them?" 

"I've  got  'em  in  a  tin  box,  and  put  away  safe 
enough." 


252    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"I  hope  you  haven't  got  them  hidden  around 
one  of  the  cabins,"  said  Fred.  "They'd  be  sure 
to  find  them  if  they  came  here  some  time  when 
you  were  away,  and  made  a  search." 

"I  haven't  got  'em  in  or  near  either  of  thq 
cabins.  I've  got  'em  in  a  better  place  than  that," 
was  the  cunning  reply. 

"You  really  ought  to  have  them  recorded, 
Uncle  Barney;  and  then  maybe  it  wouldn't  be  a 
bad  scheme  to  put  them  in  a  safe  deposit  box  in 
a  bank,"  said  Jack. 

"Oh,  they're  safe  enough — don't  you  fear !"  an- 
swered  the  old  man.  It  was  plainly  to  be  seen 
that  he  was  bound  to  have  his  own  way  in  every 
thing  he  did. 

Satisfied  that  the  visitors  had  left  the  island 
for  the  time  being,  the  boys  followed  the  old  lum 
berman  into  his  own  cabin,  and  there  helped  him 
to  start  up  the  fire.  He  told  them  that  he  had 
shipped  off  the  wild  turkey  as  desired. 

The  evening  passed  quietly,  and  in  the  morn 
ing  the  boys  found  themselves  thoroughly  rested. 

"It's  a  grand  day  for  hunting!"  exclaimed 
Fred,  as  he  went  outside  to  view  the  landscape. 
The  sun  was  just  peeping  over  the  trees  on  the 
eastern  shore  of  Lake  Monona,  and  soon  the  daz 
zling  shafts  of  light  were  streaming  over  the  ice 
and  snow  in  all  directions. 


FACING  THE  WOLVES 


253 


"Do  you  think  Asa  Lemm  and  those  others  will 
be  back  to-day?"  queried  Randy. 

"There's  no  telling,"  answered  Jack. 

While  some  of  the  boys  were  preparing  break 
fast,  the  others  walked  over  to  Uncle  Barney's 
cabin.  They  found  the  old  lumberman  already 
stirring,  and  invited  him  to  come  over  and  eat  his 
morning  meal  with  them,  an  invitation  which  he 
readily  accepted,  for  he  had  taken  a  great  liking 
to  all  of  the  Rovers. 

"We've  been  thinking  of  trying  those  snow- 
shoes,  Uncle  Barney,"  said  Jack. 

"No  time  like  the  present,  boys,"  was  the  an 
swer.  "I'll  show  you  how  to  put  'em  on,  and 
how  to  use  'em,  too." 

"Won't  you  go  out  hunting  with  us?"  ques 
tioned  Fred. 

"No;  I'm  going  to  stay  around  the  cabins,  in 
case  those  rascals  come  back.  I  don't  think  they 
will,  but  there  is  nothing  like  being  on  the  safe 
side." 

The  hour  after  the  morning  meal  was  produc 
tive  of  a  good  deal  of  fun.  None  of  the  boys 
had  ever  used  snowshoes  before,  and  conse 
quently  in  their  efforts  to  move  around  on  them, 
they  got  more  than  one  tumble. 

"Great  watermelons!"  cried  Andy,  as  he 
pitched  headfirst  into  a  snowdrift.  "And  I 


254    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

thought  using  snowshoes  was  the  easiest  thing  in 
the  world!" 

"It's  just  like  plain  walking,  Andy;  it's  got  to 
be  learned,"  answered  Jack,  who,  a  moment  be 
fore,  had  had  a  tumble  himself. 

Finally,  however,  the  boys  managed  to  remain 
on  their  feet  fairly  well,  and  then  they  started 
off  to  do  a  little  hunting  along  the  eastern  shore 
of  the  island. 

"I  don't  know  as  you'll  be  able  to  stir  up  very 
much  to-day,"  announced  Uncle  Barney.  "But 
even  a  few  rabbits  and  a  few  squirrels  won't  be 
so  bad." 

They  carried  a  lunch  with  them,  not  knowing 
whether  they  would  get  back  to  the  cabin  by 
noon  or  not.  They  were  soon  gliding  over  the 
snow  where  something  of  a  trail  led  through  the 
woods. 

They  tramped  a  good  half  mile  before  they  saw 
anything  in  the  way  of  game.  Then  several  squir 
rels  appeared,  and  Fred  and  Andy  had  the  sat 
isfaction  of  laying  them  low  with  their  shot 
guns.  Then  they  tramped  on  further,  and  by 
noon  managed  to  obtain  a  rabbit  and  two  wood 
cocks. 

"Not  so  bad  but  what  it  might  be  worse,"  an 
nounced  Jack,  who  had  the  rabbit  to  his  credit 
"We  won't  go  hungry,  that's  sure !" 


FACING  THE  WOLVES 


255 


"And  don't  forget  that  we've  got  those  wild 
turkeys  to  eat,"  added  Andy,  who  had  laid  low 
the  two  woodcocks. 

Being  unaccustomed  to  the  use  of  snowshoes, 
the  lads  were  glad  to  rest.  They  built  themselves 
a  little  campfire,  and,  huddling  around  this,  par 
took  of  the  lunch  they  had  brought  along,  wash 
ing  it  down  with  some  hot  chocolate  from  a  ther 
mos  bottle  they  carried. 

The  lunch  finished,  they  set  off  once  again, 
this  time  going  deeper  into  the  woods  than  ever. 

"Listen!"  cried  Jack  presently.  "I  thought  I 
heard  some  game  stirring." 

All  came  to  a  halt  and  listened  intently.  From 
a  distance  they  heard  a  peculiar  drumming  sound. 

"Partridges,  I'll  bet  anything!"  cried  Randy 
in  a  low  voice.  "Come  on,  let's  see  if  we  can't 
get  some  of  them." 

He  led  the  way  over  the  snow,  and  the  others 
were  not  slow  in  following.  They  had  reached  a 
point  where  the  trees  grew  sparingly,  and  where 
there  were  a  great  number  of  rocks  and  brush 
wood. 

They  could  hear  a  strange  fluttering,  and  then 
a  number  of  partridges  arose  in  the  air  some 
distance  in  front  of  them.  All  took  hasty  aim  and 
fired,  but  the  game  sailed  out  of  sight  un 
harmed. 


256    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"That's  the  time  we  missed  it,"  observed  Jack 
dismally.  "I  guess  we  made  too  much  noise  and 
they  heard  us." 

"Listen!"  interrupted  Randy.  "There  is  some 
sort  of  fight  going  on  ahead." 

He  was  right;  and,  listening,  they  made  out  a 
strange  bark  mingled  with  a  snarl  and  several 
yelps. 

"Let's  go  ahead  and  see  what  it  means!"  ex 
claimed  Andy,  and  pushed  on,  with  the  others 
close  behind  him. 

The  boys  had  to  skirt  some  heavy  brushwood, 
and  then  came  out  in  a  small  cleared  space  sur 
rounded  by  numerous  big  rocks  and  pine  trees. 
The  strange  noises  they  had  heard  had  come  from 
between  two  of  the  large  rocks,  and  now,  of  a 
sudden,  several  forms,  snapping  and  snarling  and 
whirling  this  way  and  that  in  the  snow,  burst 
upon  their  view. 

"Wolves!" 

"Four  of  them!" 

"They  are  all  fighting  over  the  possession  of 
a  dead  partridge !" 

Four  gaunt  and  hungry-looking  wolves  had 
come  tumbling  out  in  the  snow.  One  of  them 
was  carrying  a  dead  partridge  in  his  mouth,  and 
the  other  three  were  doing  their  best  to  get  the 
game  away  from  him.  As  the  Rovers  came  into 


FACING  THE  WOLVES  257 

the  opening,  the  wolves,  for  an  instant,  stopped 
their  fighting  and  glared  at  the  boys.  Then  the 
animal  having  the  game  made  a  sudden  leap  over 
the  rocks  and  disappeared  from  view.  The  three 
wolves  that  remained  began  to  snap  and  snarl 
and  show  their  teeth. 

"Gracious!  they  are  certainly  hungry-looking 
beggars!"  was  Randy's  comment. 

"Come  on,  let's  shoot  them!"  exclaimed  Jack. 

"They're  no  good  for  game,"  interposed  Randy. 

"I  know  that,  Randy.  But  we  don't  want  them 
on  the  island,  and  neither  does  Uncle  Barney." 

"I  thought  he  said  there  weren't  very  many 
wolves  left.  Maybe " 

Fred,  who  was  speaking,  got  no  further,  for  at 
that  moment  the  three  hungry-looking  wolves 
crouched  low,  and  then  sprang  straight  in  the  di 
rection  of  the  four  young  hunters ! 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

JACK   FREES   HIS   MIND 

"JUMP  for  your  lives !" 

"Shoot  them!" 

These  cries  had  scarcely  been  made  when 
Jack's  gun  rang  out  and  the  foremost  of  the  three 
wolves  was  hit  in  the  foreleg.  He  gave  a  plunge, 
and  rolled  over  in  the  snow,  snapping  and  snarl 
ing  viciously.  The  report  of  the  weapon  was  fol 
lowed  by  the  discharge  of  Randy's  gun,  but  his 
aim  was  wild  and  the  charge  passed  harmlessly 
over  the  heads  of  the  wolves. 

"Shoot  them!" 

"Club  them!" 

Then  another  shot  rang  out  as  Fred  swung 
into  action.  It  was  at  close  range,  and  the  charge 
of  shot  tore  directly  into  the  throat  of  the  lead 
ing  wolf,  causing  him  to  leap  high  into  the  air, 
and  then  fall  over  on  his  back.  He  plunged  for 
a  moment,  sending  the  snow  flying  in  every  di 
rection,  and  then  lay  still. 

Shocked  evidently  by  the  fate  that  had  over- 


THE  WOLF  RECEIVED   A  BLOW  THAT  BOWLED  HIM  OVER. 
The  Rover  Boys  on  Snowshoe  Island. 


JACK   FREES   HIS   MIND  259 

taken  both  of  his  companions,  the  third  wolf  came 
to  a  sudden  halt.  With  eyes  glaring  fiercely,  he 
snapped  and  then  leaped  for  the  nearest  rocks. 

"Shoot  him,  somebody!  We  want  to  get  all 
three  of  them!" 

Crack!  Bang!  went  a  rifle  and  a  shotgun  al 
most  simultaneously,  but  the  aim  of  the  two 
marksmen  was  poor,  and  only  a  few  scattering 
shots  went  through  the  tail  of  the  wolf.  Then, 
with  a  wild  yelp,  he  disappeared  behind  the  rocks, 
and  that  was  the  last  seen  of  him.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  wounded  beast  was  snapping  and  snarl 
ing  most  ferociously.  He  sent  a  shower  of  loose 
snow  toward  the  Rovers,  and  then  made  a  des 
perate  leap  at  Jack. 

It  was  a  time  of  dire  peril,  and  no  one  realized 
it  more  than  did  the  oldest  Rover  boy.  He  at 
tempted  to  retreat,  but  to  do  so  in  snowshoes  was 
too  much  for  him,  and  over  he  went  on  his  side  in 
a  deep  bank  of  snow,  almost  disappearing  from 
view. 

"The  wolf  is  on  top  of  Jack !" 

"Shoot  him — but  be  careful  and  don't  hit 
Jack!" 

"Don't  fire!"  gasped  Randy.  "You'll  hit  Jack 
sure !"  and  then,  as  well  as  he  was  able,  he  sprang 
to  the  front,  using  his  gun  as  a  club  as  he  did  so. 
Around  came  the  stock  with  a  wide  swing,  and 


260    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

the  wolf  received  a  blow  in  the  side  that  bowled 
him  over  and  over. 

This  second  attack,  coming  after  he  had  been 
wounded  in  the  foreleg,  was  too  much  for  the 
animal,  and  with  a  yelp  of  sudden  fear  he  went 
limping  and  leaping  through  the  snow,  sending 
the  loose  particles  flying  all  about  him.  One  of 
the  boys  discharged  his  gun  after  the  beast,  but 
whether  he  hit  the  animal  or  not  he  could  not 
tell.  In  another  moment  the  wolf  was  out  of 
sight. 

"Do  you  think  any  of  them  will  come  back?'* 
panted  Andy,  who  was  quite  out  of  breath  with 
excitement. 

"I  don't  think  so,"  answered  Jack.  "However, 
let  us  reload  just  as  quickly  as  we  can  and  be 
ready  for  them."  He  had  been  taught  the  all-im 
portant  lesson  that  a  hunter  should  not  let  his 
firearm  remain  empty. 

"Well,  anyhow,  I  got  one  of  them !"  cried  Fred, 
with  proper  pride,  as  he  surveyed  the  beast  he 
had  laid  low.  The  discharge  of  shot  had  almost 
torn  the  wolf's  throat  asunder. 

"What  will  you  do  with  him?"  questioned 
Randy. 

"I'm  going  to  take  him  back  to  the  cabin  and 
ask  Uncle  Barney  about  it,"  was  Fred's  reply. 
"Perhaps  we  can  have  the  wolf  stuffed." 


JACK   FREES   HIS   MIND  261 

The  excitement  of  the  encounter  with  the 
wolves  had  taken  away  the  boys'  desire  to  do 
any  more  hunting  that  day,  and,  strapping  the 
dead  wolf  fast  to  a  tree  limb,  they  started  on  the 
return  to  the  northern  end  of  the  island,  each  do 
ing  his  share  in  carrying  the  dead  animal. 

"What's  that  ?  A  wolf  ?"  cried  Barney  Steven 
son,  when  he  saw  what  they  had  brought.  And 
then  he  added  quickly.  "Must  be  the  one  that  we 
located  in  the  cabin  at  the  other  end  of  the  is 
land." 

"We  can't  say  about  that,"  answered  Jack,  and 
then  all  of  the  boys  told  the  story  of  the  encoun 
ter  in  the  woods. 

"Four  of  them !  Why,  I  haven't  heard  of  any 
such  thing  as  that  around  here  for  years!  I'll 
have  to  go  after  some  of  those  wolves  myself." 

"I  was  wondering  what  'we  could  do  with  this 
wolf,"  said  Fred.  "Do  you  think  I  could  send 
him  home  to  have  him  stuffed  ?" 

"You  could,  my  boy.  But  I  wouldn't  advise  it. 
Who  would  want  a  stuffed  wolf  around  anyhow  ? 
Of  course,  you  might  put  him  in  some  club-house 
or  furrier's  window — or  something  like  that." 

"Oh,  I  guess  I  won't  bother,"  answered  Fred. 

"I'll  tell  you  what  we'll  do,"  suggested  Jack. 
"We'll  prop  the  wolf  up  against  a  tree,  and  then 
take  a  photograph  of  Fred  shooting  at  him ;"  and 


262    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

so  it  was  decided,  and  the  boys  had  much  fun 
taking  the  picture. 

Several  days  passed,  and  no  one  came  near  the 
island.  In  the  meantime,  the  boys  went  out  hunt 
ing  every  day,  and  Barney  Stevenson  showed 
them  how  to  fish  through  a  hole  in  the  ice.  This 
was  great  sport,  and  they  had  the  satisfaction  of 
adding  a  number  of  pickerel  and  perch  to  their 
bill  of  fare.  During  those  days,  they  cooked  and 
ate  the  wild  turkeys,  and  found  the  meat  quite 
palatable. 

"We  sure  are  having  one  dandy  time,"  said 
Fred  one  evening,  when  sitting  in  front  of  the 
blazing  fire. 

"I  don't  see  how  it  could  be  any  better,  Fred," 
answered  Andy. 

"And  just  think  of  what  we've  brought  down 
in  the  way  of  rabbits,  squirrels,  pheasants,  wood 
cocks  and  turkeys !" 

"Not  to  say  anything  about  my  wolf,"  came 
from  Fred. 

"Yes,  and  a  shot  I  got  at  a  brook  mink,"  added 
Jack.  He  had  seen  the  mink  at  a  distance,  but 
had  been  unable  to  bring  the  game  down. 

Uncle  Barney  had  been  with  the  boys  at  sup 
per  time,  but  had  taken  himself  over  to  his  own 
cabin,  to  smoke  and  to  read  one  of  several  books 
the  boys  had  given  him. 


JACK   FREES   HIS   MIND  263 

"I  think  I'll  go  over  and  see  the  old  lumber 
man,"  said  Jack  presently.  "You  fellows  can 
stay  here." 

"Going  to  talk  to  him  about  Ruth  and  her 
|olks?"  questioned  Randy. 

"Yes,  if  I  get  the  chance." 

"I  wouldn't  worry  him  too  much,"  said  Fred. 
"He  hasn't  gotten  over  that  visit  from  Professor 
Lemm  and  the  others  yet." 

"Oh,  I'll  be  careful — don't  worry  about  that." 

The  old  lumberman  was  a  bit  surprised  to  have 
Jack  walk  in  on  him,  but  the  youth  had  brought 
his  gun  along,  and  he  asked  Uncle  Barney  to  ex 
amine  the  hammer  of  the  weapon. 

"It  looks  all  right  to  me,"  said  the  old  lumber 
man,  after  an  examination ;  "but  I'll  put  on  a  few 
drops  of  oil,  and  then  maybe  it'll  work  easier. 
It  won't  do  to  have  the  hammer  stick  just  when 
you  want  to  use  it." 

"And  now,  Uncle  Barney,  if  you'll  permit  me, 
I'd  like  to  speak  of  something  else,"  said  Jack, 
as  he  dropped  into  a  seat  alongside  of  the  fire 
place.  "I've  got  something  on  my  mind,  and  I 
want  to  see  if  you  can't  help  me  out." 

"Something  on  your  mind,  eh?"  returned  the 
old  man  kindly.  "Well,  if  I  can  help  you  out, 
you  can  depend  on  old  Uncle  Barney  to  do  it," 
and  he  smiled  broadly. 


264    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"It  isn't  exactly  my  trouble,  Uncle  Barney. 
It's  somebody  else's,"  went  on  the  oldest  Rover 
boy.  "A  young  lady  I  know  is  very  much  wor 
ried  over  something,  and  she  has  asked  me  if  I 
can't  do  something  to  help  her  get  rid  of  that 
worry." 

"Must  be  some  young  lady  you  know  pretty 
well,  then,  Jack;"  and  the  old  lumberman  smiled 
again. 

"I  do  know  her  quite  well.  And  I  think  a  great 
deal  of  her  friendship.  Her  folks  have  some 
trouble  on  hand — quite  a  good  deal  of  it  in  fact — 
and  it  worries  the  girl  a  good  deal,  and  that,  of 
course,  worries  me.  You  see,  there  has  been  a 
terrible  mistake  made,  and  neither  the  girl  nor 
her  folks  know  how  to  get  at  it  to  remedy  it." 

"I  see — I  see !"  The  old  lumberman  nodded  his 
head  several  times.  "That's  the  way  it  is  often. 
Things  get  into  a  snarl,  and  a  fellow  can't  see  his 
way  clear  to  straighten  'em  out.  I've  been  there 
myself,  and  I  know." 

"This  young  lady  I'm  speaking  about  has  an 
old  relative — a  sort  of  uncle — that  she  thinks  a 
great  deal  of.  Her  folks  think  a  great  deal  of 
this  gentleman,  too.  Now,  years  ago,  her  folks 
and  the  old  gentleman  had  a  quarrel,  and  now  the 
old  gentleman  won't  let  her  come  anywhere  near 
him,  even  though  she  would  love  dearly  to  talk 


JACK  FREES   HIS   MIND  265 

to  him  and  try  to  explain  matters,  so  that  he 
would  understand  that  it  was  not  her  folks'  fault 
that  the  quarrel  had  taken  place." 

"See  here!  what  are  you  talking  about?"  ex 
claimed  Uncle  Barney,  eyeing  Jack  suspiciously. 
"Come  now,  no  beating  about  the  bush !" 

"Well,  if  you  must  know,  I'm  speaking  about 
Ruth  Stevenson,  who  goes  to  a  young  ladies' 
school  not  far  from  Colby  Hall.  She  and  I  are 
very  good  friends,  and  she  has  told  me  a  good 
deal  about  this  quarrel  you  had  with  her  father." 

"It  was  Fred  Stevenson's  fault — it  wasn't  my 
fault!"  grumbled  the  old  lumberman. 

"Maybe  it  was,  Uncle  Barney.  I  don't  know 
anything  about  that.  But  I  do  know  that 
Ruth  has  told  me  that  her  father  never  wanted 
nor  tried  to  do  you  any  injury.  He  claims  that 
it  was  all  a  mistake,  and  that  you  should  have 
given  him  a  chance  to  explain." 

"It  wasn't  any  mistake — I  know  just  exactly 
what  happened !" 

"But  don't  you  think  you  ought  to  at  least  lis 
ten  to  what  Ruth's  father  has  to  say?  All  he 
wants  you  to  do  is  to  hear  his  story." 

"Did  he  tell  you  that?" 

"Ruth  told  me.  She  said  both  her  father  and 
her  mother  are  very  much  upset  over  the  way 
you  have  treated  them.  They  want  to  be  friends 


266    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

with  you,  and  her  father  is  willing  to  do  what 
ever  is  right  regarding  what  took  place  years 
ago.  She  said  her  folks  would  like  nothing  bet 
ter  than  to  have  you  give  up  your  lonely  life  on 
this  island  and  come  down  and  make  your  home 
with  them." 

"What !  Me  go  down  there  and  live  with  them 
after  all  that  has  happened!  I  couldn't  do  any 
thing  like  that!"  and  the  old  lumberman  sprang 
up  and  began  to  pace  the  cabin  floor. 

"You  could  do  it  if  you  tried,  Uncle  Barney. 
By  the  way,  don't  you  remember  Ruth  ?" 

"Sure  I  do — as  pretty  a  little  girl  as  ever  I 
set  eyes  on.  I  never  had  anything  against  her. 
It  was  her  father  I  had  my  quarrel  with." 

"And  you  liked  Ruth's  mother,  too,  didn't 
you?"  went  on  Jack  slowly. 

"Oh,  yes.  Helen  Dean  always  was  a  nice  girl. 
I  knew  her  long  before  Fred  Stevenson  married 
her." 

"And  you  liked  Ruth's  father,  too,  didn't  you, 
before  this  quarrel  took  place?" 

"Of  course.  We  were  very  chummy  up  to  that 
time."  The  old  lumberman  took  several  turns 
across  the  cabin  floor.  "But  that's  all  over  now. 
He  didn't  treat  me  fair — that's  all  there  is  to  it! 
He  didn't  even  come  to  my  wife's  funeral !" 

"Well,  if  he  didn't,  he's  very  sorry  for  it  now. 


JACK   FREES  HIS   MIND  267 

And  you  can  take  it  from  me,  Uncle  Barney,  that 
he  would  like  nothing  better  than  to  patch  up  the 
matter  somehow  or  other,  and  be  friends  once 
more." 

"Yes,  but " 

"And  just  think  how  happy  it  would  make  his 
wife  and  Ruth!"  continued  Jack  quietly. 

"Maybe.  But  I  don't  see  how  it  can  be  done. 
Anyway,  I  ain't  going  to  take  the  first  step,"  went 
on  Uncle  Barney,  somewhat  lamely. 

"You  won't  have  to  take  the  first  step!"  cried 
Jack.  "You  just  let  them  do  that."  He  came 
over  and  caught  the  old  lumberman  by  the  arm. 
"Will  you?" 

For  a  moment  Uncle  Barney  was  silent.  He 
bit  his  lip  and  rubbed  his  chin  with  the  back  of 
his  hand. 

"Well,  I'll  see  about  it,"  he  said  slowly.  "I'll 
think  it  over." 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE   BLUE  TIN    BOX 

WHEN  Jack  Rover  returned  to  the  other  cabin 
he  was  in  a  happy  frame  of  mind.  He  had  talked 
to  Barney  Stevenson  for  over  an  hour,  and  the  old 
man  had  at  last  agreed  to  listen  to  what  Ruth's 
father  might  have  to  say  to  him.  He  had  ad 
mitted  that  living  on  the  island  was  rather  a 
lonely  existence  for  him,  especially  as  he  was 
getting  old. 

"I  do  hope  they  patch  up  their  differences," 
remarked  Jack  to  his  cousins,  after  he  had  told 
them  of  the  conversation  held.  "I  know  it  will 
take  a  great  load  off  of  Ruth's  mind." 

"Are  you  going  to  send  the  Stevensons  a  let 
ter?"  questioned  Fred. 

"I'm  going  to  do  better  than  that,  Fred,"  was 
the  reply.  "I'll  skate  down  to  Rockville  the  first 
thing  in  the  morning  and  send  Ruth  and  her  folks 
a  telegram.  There  is  nothing  like  striking  while 
the  iron  is  hot." 

"Exactly  so!"  put  in  Andy.  "It's  just  like 
268 


THE   BLUE   TIN  BOX  269 

catching  a  flea  while  he  is  biting;"  and  at  this 
sally  there  was  a  general  laugh. 

Jack  was  as  good  as  his  word,  and  slipped  off 
early  in  the  morning,  accompanied  by  Randy. 
It  was  a  beautiful  day,  and  the  youths  had  little 
difficulty  in  reaching  the  town.  Here  the  oldest 
Rover  boy  spent  quite  some  time  concocting  the 
proper  message,  which  he  sent  to  the  Stevenson 
home  address. 

"I  only  hope  somebody  will  be  there  to  receive 
it,"  he  said,  after  the  message  had  been  paid  for, 
and  he  had  urged  upon  the  operator  to  send  it 
without  delay. 

Several  more  days,  including  Sunday,  passed 
rather  quietly  for  the  boys.  One  afternoon  there 
came  another  fall  of  snow,  and  they  grew  rather 
fearful,  thinking  they  might  be  snowed  in.  But 
the  fall  proved  a  light  one,  and  in  the  morning  it 
was  as  clear  as  ever. 

Jack  had  been  rather  disappointed  at  not  get 
ting  the  brook  mink  at  which  he  had  shot,  and 
now  he  asked  the  others  if  they  would  not  go  to 
the  locality  where  the  mink  had  been  seen. 

"I'd  like  to  bring  one  of  them  down,"  said 
the  oldest  Rover  boy. 

"Well,  we  might  as  well  go  after  the  mink  as 
do  anything,"  answered  Fred.  He  was  growing 
just  a  bit  tired  of  going  after  nothing  but  rab- 


270    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

bits  and  squirrels.  For  two  days  they  had  seen 
nothing  else  at  which  to  shoot.  Even  the  wolves 
and  wild  turkeys  kept  well  out  of  sight. 

The  boys  found  old  Uncle  Barney  polishing 
his  gun.  He  told  them,  however,  that  he  was  not 
going  out  hunting,  but  was  going  into  the  woods 
to  inspect  some  of  the  trees  with  a  view  to  cutting 
them  down  for  lumber. 

"You  won't  have  no  easy  time  of  it  getting  a 
mink,"  he  said.  "The  only  way  I  ever  got  'em 
was  in  a  trap.  Howsomever,  go  ahead  and  enjoy 
yourselves.  Hunting  is  a  good  deal  like  fishing 
— you  can  have  lots  of  fun  even  if  you  don't  get 
anything,"  and  he  chuckled.  Nevertheless,  his 
face  looked  as  if  he  was  somewhat  worried. 

"I'll  wager  he's  thinking  about  Ruth's  father 
and  that  meeting  they  may  have,"  said  Randy, 
when  the  Rovers  were  alone  and  preparing  to  go 
out  on  the  hunt. 

"Either  that,  Randy,  or  else  he  is  brooding 
over  the  trouble  Professor  Lemm  and  Mr.  Brown 
are  making  for  him." 

"There's  one  thing  I  can't  understand  about 
this,"  put  in  Andy.  "Why  should  those  men  be 
so  anxious  to  obtain  possession  of  an  island  like 
this?  It  isn't  very  large,  and  the  lumber  on  it 
can't  be  worth  a  great  deal.  I  should  think  they 
could  pick  up  a  piece  of  real  estate  almost  any- 


THE   BLUE    TIN   BOX 


271 


where  that  would  be  far  more  valuable  than 
this." 

"Now  you're  saying  something  that  I've  been 
thinking  right  along,"  answered  Jack.  "Even  if 
they  wanted  this  place  for  a  summer  resort,  it 
wouldn't  bring  any  great  sum  of  money." 

"One  thing  is  certain,"  said  Fred;  "they  are 
very  eager  to  get  possession." 

"Yes.  And  another  thing  is  certain,  too," 
added  Jack.  "That  is,  Uncle  Barney  isn't  going 
to  let  them  have  it  if  he  can  possibly  stop  them." 

The  boys  had  had  an  early  breakfast,  and  now 
they  filled  one  of  their  game  bags  with  a  well- 
cooked  lunch,  and  also  carried  with  them  a  ther 
mos  bottle  filled  with  hot  chocolate. 

"We  don't  want  to  run  short  on  food,"  cau 
tioned  Andy.  "Gee!  what  an  appetite  this  fresh 
air  gives  a  fellow!" 

"Right  you  are !"  answered  Fred.  "I  could  eat 
five  or  six  meals  a  day  and  never  mind  it  at  all." 

"I'm  glad  we  have  managed  to  bring  down  so 
many  squirrels  and  rabbits,"  put  in  Randy.  "If 
it  wasn't  for  that,  we  might  have  run  a  little  short 
on  eating.  I'm  a  little  bit  tired  of  squirrel  stew 
and  rabbit  potpie,  although  they  are  a  whole  lot 
better  than  going  hungry." 

Barney  Stevenson  came  out  to  see  them  off. 

"Going  down  to  that  brook  where  you  saw  the 


272 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 


mink?"  he  questioned,  referring  to  a  tiny  water 
course,  now,  of  course,  frozen  up,  located  near 
the  southern  end  of  the  island. 

"Yes.  And  maybe  we'll  get  away  down  to  the 
other  cabin,"  answered  Jack.  "We  thought  we'd 
like  to  take  a  look  around  there." 

"And  if  we  don't  come  back  to-night,  you'll 
know  that  we're  staying  at  that  cabin,"  said 
Fred. 

"Oh,  we  didn't  calculate  to  stay  out  all  night," 
put  in  Jack  quickly. 

"I  know  we  didn't.  But  it's  just  possible  it 
may  get  too  late  for  us  to  come  back,  and  that 
cabin  would  be  comfortable  enough,  especially  ii 
we  managed  to  drag  in  some  pine  boughs  for 
beds." 

"Well,  don't  shoot  more  than  half  a  dozen 
minks — or  half  a  dozen  deer,  either!"  shouted 
Uncle  Barney  after  them;  and  then  they  started 
off  and  were  soon  out  of  sight,  skating  along 
the  eastern  shore  of  Snowshoe  Island. 

Left  to  himself,  Uncle  Barney  began  to  pace 
the  floor  of  his  cabin  impatiently.  Evidently  the 
old  lumberman  was  turning  over  something  in  his 
mind — something  which  bothered  him  a  great 
deal. 

"Of  course  they  are  safe!"  he  murmured  to 
himself.  "It  couldn't  be  otherwise.  The  last 


THE  BLUE    TIN  BOX  273 

time  I  looked,  the  tin  box  was  just  where  I  had 
left  it.  I  don't  see  why  I  should  get  so  ner 
vous  over  it" 

Presently  he  drew  out  his  pipe,  filled  it,  and 
sat  down  in  front  of  the  fire  to  smoke.  As  he  did 
this,  a  slight  noise  outside  the  cabin  attracted  his 
attention. 

"I  wonder  what  that  was?"  he  asked  himself, 
and,  arising,  looked  out  of  one  of  the  cabin  win 
dows.  Then  he  went  to  the  door  and  gazed 
around.  No  one  was  in  sight,  and  he  closed  the 
door  again. 

"Must  have  been  the  wind,  or  something  like 
that,"  he  murmured.  "Or  else  I'm  getting  more 
nervous  than  I  ever  was  before.  Now  that  I've 
got  used  to  those  boys  around,  it  seems  dread 
fully  lonely  when  they  are  gone ;"  and  he  heaved 
a  deep  sigh. 

He  remained  in  front  of  the  fire  for  the  best 
part  of  half  an  hour.  Then,  as  if  struck  by  a 
sudden  determination,  he  leaped  up,  knocked  the 
ashes  from  his  pipe,  and  began  to  put  on  his 
snowshoes.  He  donned  his  heavy  coat  and  his 
cap,  locked  up  his  cabin,  and  strode  off  in  the  di 
rection  of  the  heavy  woods  in  the  center  of  the 
island. 

Although  Barney  Stevenson  was  not  aware  of 
it,  the  noise  he  had  heard  while  seated  before  the 


274    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

open  fire  had  betokened  something  of  import 
ance.  Entirely  unknown  to  the  old  lumberman 
or  to  the  Rover  boys,  Slugger  Brown  and  Nappy 
Martell  had  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  the  two 
cabins  on  the  northern  point  of  the  island.  Both 
of  the  youths  were  armed,  but  they  approached 
the  cabin  occupied  by  the  old  lumberman  with  the 
greatest  of  secrecy. 

"It  looks  like  another  wild-goose  chase  to  me," 
growled  Slugger  Brown,  when  they  were  close 
to  the  place.  "We've  been  here  three  times  now, 
and  the  old  man  hasn't  done  a  thing  out  of  the 
ordinary." 

"Well,  we're  sure  of  one  thing,  anyway," 
Nappy  replied.  "He  hasn't  got  those  deeds  any 
where  around  that  cabin — or  at  least  no  place 
where  we  could  locate  them." 

The  bully  and  his  crony  had,  from  a  distance, 
watched  the  departure  of  the  Rovers.  As  can  be 
guessed  from  their  conversation,  they  had  visited 
the  island  several  times  before,  each  time  taking 
care  that  none  of  the  others  should  discover  their 
presence.  On  their  trips  they  had  been  strongly 
tempted  to  "rough-house"  the  cabin  occupied  by 
Jack  and  his  cousins,  but  they  had  not  dared  to 
do  this,  fearing  it  might  cause  the  Rovers  to  go 
on  guard. 

"And  anyhow,  we're  not  here  for  that  our- 


THE   BLUE   TIN  BOX 


275 


pose  now,"  Slugger  Brown  had  observed.  "We 
want  to  get  those  land  deeds  for  my  dad  and  old 
Lemon." 

The  two  youths  had  come  close  to  the  side  of 
the  cabin  and  peered  in  at  one  of  the  windows, 
and  it  was  this  noise  that  had  attracted  Barney 
Stevenson's  attention.  But  they  had  managed  to 
keep  out  of  sight  of  the  old  lumberman  by  fling 
ing  themselves  down  behind  some  bushes.  They 
watched  the  departure  of  Uncle  Barney  with  in 
terest,  and  at  once  resolved  to  follow  him. 

"Of  course  we  haven't  any  snowshoes;  so 
maybe  we  won't  get  very  far,"  said  Slugger,  "but 
we  will  do  the  best  we  can." 

Unconscious  that  his  movements  were  being 
so  closely  observed,  Uncle  Barney  plunged  deep 
into  the  woods,  taking  a  trail  which  was  familiar 
to  him.  In  some  spots  the  snow  lay  deep,  but  in 
the  majority  of  places  the  wind  had  swept  the 
ground  almost  bare,  so  Slugger  and  Nappy  had 
no  great  difficulty  in  following  in  the  old  man's 
footsteps. 

"He  doesn't  seem  to  be  going  out  after  any 
game,"  observed  Nappy  presently.  "I  just  saw  a 
rabbit  running  ahead  of  him,  and  he  never  even 
raised  his  gun." 

"I  think  I  know  where  he's  going,"  answered 
Slugger.  "We'll  soon  find  out  if  I'm  right." 


276    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"You  mean  that  cave  your  father  once  spoke 
about?" 

'That's  it,  Nappy." 

"What  is  there  about  that  cave  that  makes  it 
so  important?"  went  on  the  other  curiously. 

"Never  mind  that  now — you'll  know  some  day 
— when  my  father  gets  possession  of  the  island," 
answered  Slugger  rather  importantly. 

The  best  part  of  half  a  mile  more  was  cov 
ered,  and  then  Barney  Stevenson  left  the  trail  and 
plunged  in  among  a  wilderness  of  trees  and  rocks. 
He  had  to  take  off  his  snowshoes,  and  he  hung 
them  up  in  a  tree.  Then  he  went  ahead  once 
more,  presently  reaching  the  foot  of  a  little  cliff. 
Here  there  was  an  opening  six  or  seven  feet  in 
diameter,  and  he  disappeared  into  this. 

"What  do  you  know  about  that  ?"  cried  Nappy 
in  a  low  voice.  "Is  that  a  cave  ?" 

"That's  just  what  it  is!"  answered  Slugger 
triumphantly.  "I  only  hope  it's  the  cave  my 
father  wanted  to  locate." 

"Why  does  he  want  to  locate  a  cave  on  this 
island?"  asked  Nappy,  more  curious  than  ever. 

"You'll  know  some  day,  Nap.  Now  come  on 
— let's  try  to  find  out  what  the  old  man  is  going 
to  do  in  that  cave." 

With  caution,  the  bully  and  his  crony  made 
their  way  over  the  snow,  and  then  slipped  in- 


THE   BLUE    TIN  BOX 


277 


side  the  entrance  to  the  cave.  Ahead  of  them  they 
saw  the  flicker  of  a  lantern  which  Uncle  Barney 
had  lit. 

The  cave  was  irregular  in  shape,  running  back 
a  distance  of  a  hundred  feet  or  more.  As  the 
old  man  advanced  he  held  his  gun  ready  for  use, 
thinking  that  possibly  some  wild  animal  had  taken 
possession;  but  no  animal  of  any  sort  appeared. 

Coming  to  the  back  end  of  the  cave,  the  old 
man  set  down  the  lantern  on  a  rock.  Then  he 
got  down  on  his  knees  and  began  to  pull  away  at 
a  large  flat  stone,  close  by.  He  worked  rather 
feverishly,  as  if  growing  more  nervous  every  in 
stance. 

"It  must  be  here!  They  couldn't  have  gotten 
it  away  from  me!"  he  muttered  to  himself. 

As  he  worked,  Slugger  and  Nappy  approached 
until  they  were  within  plain  sight  of  what  he  was 
doing.  They  did  not  make  a  sound,  however, 
and  Uncle  Barney  never  suspected  their  presence. 

When  the  flat  stone  had  been  set  aside,  there 
was  revealed  a  small  cache,  lined  with  more 
stones.  At  the  bottom  of  this  cache  rested  a  fair- 
sized  tin  box,  dark  blue  in  color,  and  secured  with 
a  padlock. 

"Ha!  I  knew  it  was  safe!"  cried  the  old  man 
in  a  relieved  tone  of  voice.  "I  knew  they  couldn't 
find  it!" 


278    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"Say !  what  do  you  suppose "  began  Nappy, 

when  Slugger  clapped  a  hand  over  his  mouth. 

The  low-spoken  words  echoed  throughout  the 
cavern,  and,  much  startled,  Uncle  Barney  dropped 
the  tin  box  and  sprang  to  his  feet.  As  he  did  this 
Slugger  Brown  shoved  his  crony  behind  a  pro 
jecting  rock,  and  crouched  low  himself. 

"Who  is  there?"  cried  the  old  lumberman,  and 
caught  up  his  gun.  "Who  is  there,  I  say !  Speak, 
or  I'll  fire!" 

For  reply,  Slugger  picked  up  a  good-sized 
stone  which  was  handy.  Taking  hasty  aim,  he 
hurled  it  at  the  old  man.  It  struck  Uncle  Barney 
in  the  forehead,  and  slowly  the  old  lumberman 
sank  to  the  floor  of  the  cave  unconscious. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 
UNCLE  BARNEY'S  SECRET 

"LOOKS  to  me  as  if  we  were  going  to  be 
stumped,  Jack." 

"I  agree,  Andy.  It  doesn't  look  as  if  there 
were  any  mink  in  this  neighborhood,"  answered 
the  oldest  Rover  boy. 

"Don't  give  up  yet,"  pleaded  Fred,  who  sat  on 
a  fallen  tree,  resting. 

"It's  barely  noon  yet,"  announced  Andy,  glanc 
ing  at  his  watch.  "We've  half  a  day  before  us." 

The  boys  had  spent  the  entire  time  since  leav 
ing  their  cabin  in  skating  along  the  shore  of  the 
island  and  making  their  way  along  the  tiny, 
frozen-up  watercourse,  where  they  had  hoped  to 
discover  at  least  one  brook  mink.  But  the  only 
game  to  come  into  sight  had  been  a  squirrel,  and 
they  had  not  shot  at  this,  fearing  to  disturb  the 
other  game,  were  it  in  that  vicinity. 

"Let's  have  lunch  before  we  continue  hunting," 
suggested  Andy.  "This  is  as  good  a  spot  as  any 
to  rest  in." 

279 


280    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

The  others  were  willing,  and,  finding  a  little 
cleared  space,  they  built  a  tiny  campfire  and  pro 
ceeded  to  make  themselves  at  home.  They  passed 
a  full  hour  over  the  mid-day  meal,  for  the  con 
stant  skating  and  tramping  through  the  woods 
and  climbing  over  the  rocks  was  very  tiring. 

"It  won't  be  long  before  our  vacation  will  be 
at  an  end,"  observed  Fred.  "Only  a  few  days 
more,  and  we'll  have  to  get  into  the  grind  again 
at  Colby  Hall." 

"Don't  dare  to  mention  lessons  yet,  Fred!" 
cried  Andy.  "Time  enough  for  that  when  the 
school  bell  rings." 

"I  was  hoping  Mr.  Stevenson  would  get  up 
here  before  we  left,"  said  Jack.  "I  want  to  see 
how  he  and  old  Uncle  Barney  get  along." 

"Maybe  he's  staying  away  on  purpose,  so  that 
he'll  have  a  chance  to  see  the  old  man  alone," 
suggested  Randy. 

The  middle  of  the  afternoon  found  the  four 
young  hunters  near  the  end  of  the  frozen-up 
watercourse,  at  a  point  where  it  ran  in  summer 
over  some  rough  rocks  into  the  lake  below.  Here 
the  ground  was  very  irregular,  and  once  Fred 
slipped  into  a  hollow,  giving  his  left  ankle  a  bad 
twist. 

"Ouch !"  he  cried,  and  made  a  wry  face. 

"Much  hurt?"  asked  the  others  quickly. 


UNCLE  BARNEY'S  SECRET  28l 

"I — I  don't  think  so,"  answered  the  youngest 
Rover  slowly.  He  pulled  himself  up  and  took 
a  step  or  two.  "I  guess  it  is  all  right ;  but  it  was 
a  nasty  tumble,  just  the  same." 

"We've  got  to  be  careful.  It  won't  do  for  any 
of  us  to  sprain  an  ankle  or  break  a  leg,"  cau 
tioned  Jack. 

They  had  gone  only  a  short  distance  further 
when  Randy  suddenly  put  up  his  hand. 

"I  saw  something  flit  through  the  snow  near 
yonder  rocks,"  he  whispered,  pointing. 

"I  see  it!"  ejaculated  Jack,  and  with  these 
words  he  took  hasty  aim,  and  fired.  Then  his 
cousins  saw  another  movement  in  the  snow,  be 
tween  some  nearby  rocks,  and  they,  too,  dis 
charged  their  weapons. 

There  was  a  commotion  both  in  the  direction 
in  which  Jack  had  fired,  and  also  down  between 
the  nearer  rocks,  and,  rushing  up,  the  four  young 
hunters  beheld  two  minks,  whirling  about  in  the 
snow,  each  badly  wounded. 

"Mink,  boys!    Think  of  it!" 

"Don't  let  them  get  away!" 

These  cries  mingled  with  several  more  rapid 
reports,  as  one  lad  after  another  fired  a  second 
charge.  This  time  their  aims  were  better,  and  in 
a  moment  each  of  the  minks  lay  stretched  out  on 
the  rocks,  dead. 


282    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"I  think  there  was  a  third  one,"  observed 
Randy,  "but  he  must  have  got  away." 

"Well,  we've  got  two,  anyway,"  answered  Jack 
with  some  pride.  "What  beautiful  creatures  they 
are!" 

Each  of  the  minks  was  over  a  foot  in  length, 
not  counting  the  bushy  tail.  They  were  of  a 
soft  brown  shade,  with  a  ridge  of  black  on  the 
back  and  patches  of  white  below.  Each  was  quite 
plump,  and  gave  forth  a  peculiar  strong  odor. 

The  boys  were  greatly  delighted,  and  viewed 
the  game  with  much  satisfaction.  They  placed 
the  minks  over  their  shoulders,  and  then  contin 
ued  the  hunt,  presently  stirring  up  half  a  dozen 
rabbits. 

"I  guess  we  had  better  be  starting  for  the 
cabin,"  announced  Jack  presently. 

"How  about  going  to  that  other  cabin  at  the 
south  end  of  the  island?"  queried  Fred. 

"Oh,  let's  give  that  up !"  cried  Randy.  "I  feel 
like  getting  back  to  where  we  have  all  our  things." 

The  others  were  inclined  to  do  this,  and,  some 
what  against  his  will,  Fred  agreed  to  return  to 
the  north  end  of  Snowshoe  Island.  Not  without 
some  difficulty,  they  made  their  way  back  to  the 
lake  shore,  and  there  put  on  their  skates  once 
again  and  started. 

The  young  hunters  had  expected  to  see  Uncle 


UNCLE  BARNEY'S  SECRET  283 

Barney  awaiting  them  on  their  return,  and  they 
were  a  bit  surprised  when  the  old  lumberman  did 
not  show  himself. 

"He  must  be  putting  in  a  full  day  sizing  up 
that  lumber  he  spoke  about,"  observed  Jack,  as 
he  gazed  at  his  watch.  "It's  nearly  six  o'clock." 

"He  can't  see  much  in  this  darkness,"  ob 
served  Randy. 

The  boys  entered  their  cabin,  and  after  resting 
a  bit  proceeded  to  cook  supper.  They  expected 
every  moment  to  hear  a  shout  from  Uncle  Bar 
ney,  but  none  came,  and  at  last  they  sat  down 
to  the  meal  alone. 

"I  don't  like  this  much,"  was  Jack's  comment, 
when  another  hour  had  passed,  and  the  old  lum 
berman  had  failed  to  show  himself.  "If  he  was 
going  to  stay  away  like  this  he  should  have  left 
some  word." 

"Let's  take  a  look  around  his  cabin,"  sug 
gested  Fred. 

This  was  done,  but  it  shed  no  light  on  the  un 
usual  occurrence.  The  boys  sat  down  and  tried 
to  amuse  themselves  as  best  they  could,  but,  as 
another  hour  went  by,  their  anxiety  increased. 

"Something  is  wrong,  I  feel  certain,"  an 
nounced  Jack  at  last. 

"Maybe  while  he  was  out  in  the  woods  he  fell 
down  over  some  rocks,"  suggested  Andy. 


284    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

"He's  a  pretty  old  man  to  be  climbing  around 
in  dangerous  places,"  added  his  twin. 

When  the  time  came  to  go  to  bed,  none  of 
the  boys  felt  like  retiring.  A  lantern  was  lit 
and  hung  up  on  a  flagpole  which  stood  between 
the  two  cabins.  This  was  a  signal  which  had 
been  agreed  upon  when  the  Rovers  had  first  come 
to  Snowshoe  Island. 

"There!  Now  if  he  can  see  the  light  he'll 
be  able  to  locate  himself,"  said  Fred. 

The  boys  took  a  walk  around  by  the  boat  land 
ing,  and  also  to  the  edge  of  the  woods  back  of 
the  cabin,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  Then  they  finally 
retired  to  their  own  shelter. 

"We  might  as  well  go  to  bed,"  suggested 
Randy.  "It  won't  do  any  good  for  all  of  us  to 
stay  up.  If  you  say  so,  we  might  take  turns  in 
staying  on  guard,  in  case  we  should  hear  a  call 
for  help,  or  anything  like  that." 

This  was  considered  good  advice,  and  each 
youth  took  two  hours  at  staying  awake  while  the 
others  slept;  and  thus  the  night  passed. 

With  the  first  streak  of  daylight,  the  boys  pre 
pared  a  hasty  breakfast,  and  then  went  outside 
to  view  the  situation.  They  soon  found  the  tracks 
of  the  old  lumberman's  snowshoes,  leading  into 
the  woods,  and  presently  saw  two  other  tracks 
<:lose  behind  them. 


UNCLE   BARNEY'S  SECRET  285 

"I'm  no  sleuth,  but  it  looks  to  me  as  if  Uncle 
Barney  went  into  the  woods  and  two  persons  fol 
lowed  him'!"  exclaimed  Jack. 

"Just  the  way  it  looks  to  me,  too,"  answered 
Fred. 

"Let's  go  and  follow  up  those  footprints  at 
once,"  suggested  Andy. 

The  others  were  willing,  and  in  a  short  space 
of  time  they  were  on  their  snowshoes  and  mak 
ing  their  way  through  the  woods  in  the  center 
of  the  island. 

"Hello!  here's  something!"  cried  Jack  pres 
ently,  and  pointed  to  the  old  lumberman's  snow- 
shoes,  where  they  still  rested  among  the  branches 
of  a  tree. 

Then  the  boys  saw  where  he  had  climbed  be 
tween  the  rocks,  and,  taking  off  their  snowshoes, 
they  followed  the  footprints. 

"A  cave!" 

"What  do  you  know  about  that !" 

It  did  not  take  the  lads  long  to  reach  the  en 
trance  of  the  cavern.  Then  Jack,  who  had 
brought  along  one  of  the  flashlights,  turned  it  on 
and  entered,  followed  by  his  cousins. 

"Hello,  Uncle  Barney !"  he  cried  out  at  the  top 
of  his  lungs.  "Uncle  Barney !  are  you  here  ?" 

"Help !  help !"  came  feebly  from  the  inner  end 
of  the  cave,  and,  guided  by  the  flashlight,  the  four 


286    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

Rovers  ran  in  that  direction.  They  found  the 
old  man  sitting  on  a  rock  with  his  head  resting 
on  his  arm. 

"Are  you  hurt?  How  did  it  happen?"  ques 
tioned  Jack  quickly. 

"They've  robbed  me!"  moaned  the  old  lum 
berman.  "They  came  up  behind  me,  and  some 
body  hit  me  in  the  head  with  a  rock !  Then  they 
ran  away  with  my  tin  box !" 

"Who  was  it?  Are  you  badly  hurt?"  ques 
tioned  Randy. 

"I  guess  I'm  not  so  awfully  bad  off,  even 
though  my  head  did  bleed  some,"  answered  Uncle 
Barney.  "But  the  worst  of  it  is,  they  got  away 
with  my  tin  box — the  one  that's  got  the  deeds 
to  this  island  in  it,  and  all  my  other  valuables, 
including  my  dead  wife's  jewelry  and  a  thousand 
dollars  in  gold." 

By  this  time  the  boys  were  examining  the  old 
man's  head.  They  saw  where  the  rock  had  struck 
him,  making  quite  a  cut,  from  which  the  blood 
had  flowed  over  one  ear.  It  was  much  swollen, 
and  over  it  Uncle  Barney  had  tied  a  bandanna 
handkerchief. 

i  "I'll  get  some  snow  and  wash  it  off  with  that !" 
cried  Fred,  and  did  so.  Then  the  wound  was 
bound  up  once  more,  and  Uncle  Barney  said  he 
felt  better.  He  told  his  story  in  detail. 


UNCLE  BARNEY'S  SECRET  287 

"What  am  I  going  to  do?"  he  groaned. 
"Those  rascals  have  got  my  treasure  box !" 

"Who  were  they?"  questioned  Randy. 

"I  don't  know  exactly.  I  heard  them  talk,  and 
faced  them  with  my  gun.  They  were  in  the 
dark,  so  I  couldn't  distinguish  them  very  good. 
Then  one  of  them  threw  a  big  rock,  and  that  is 
all  I  can  remember.  As  soon  as  I  became  uncon 
scious  they  must  have  grabbed  the  box  and  run 
away  with  it." 

"It  must  have  been  either  Asa  Lemm  and  Mr. 
Brown,  or  else  Slugger  and  Nappy,"  said  Randy. 

"I  don't  know  what  I'm  going  to  do,  now  those 
deeds  are  gone — not  to  say  anything  about  my 
wife's  jewelry  and  all  that  gold !"  groaned  the  old 
lumberman. 

"Just  you  take  it  easy,  Uncle  Barney.  You 
mustn't  excite  yourself  now,"  said  Jack  kindly. 
"We'll  do  what  we  can  toward  getting  the  box 
back." 

The  boys  had  brought  some  food  along,  and 
they  insisted  upon  it  that  the  old  man  eat  and 
drink  something.  This  seemed  to  strengthen 
Uncle  Barney  greatly,  and  he  arose  to  his  feet. 

"Now  we'll  get  after  those  rascals,"  he  said, 
with  something  of  the  old-time  fire  in  his  eyes. 
"I'm  not  going  to  allow  'em  to  rob  me  in  this 
fashion!" 


288    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

While  the  old  lumberman  had  been  eating,  the 
Rover  boys  had  glanced  around  the  cave  curi 
ously.  It  was  a  place  partly  natural  and  partly 
artificial.  On  one  side  it  looked  as  if  a  little  min 
ing  had  been  done,  and  Jack,  who  had  studied 
geology,  gazed  at  the  surface  of  rocks  and  dirt 
with  much  interest. 

"Why,  Uncle  Barney,  this  looks  to  me  as  if  it 
was  zinc  ore!"  he  cried  presently. 

"Hush,  hush,  boy!  I  don't  want  anybody  to 
know  about  that !"  answered  the  old  man  quickly. 

"Then  it  is  zinc  ore,  is  it  ?"  queried  Randy,  who 
had  also  been  inspecting  a  side  of  the  cave. 

"Yes,  if  you  must  know,"  was  the  surprising 
reply.  "Right  here,  in  the  middle  of  this  island, 
is  one  of  the  most  valuable  zinc  ore  beds  to  be 
found  anywhere." 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

THE  DISCOVERY 

"THE  trouble  is,  those  rascals  have  a  twenty- 
four  hours'  start  of  us,"  remarked  Jack.  "For -all 
we  know  they  may  be  miles  away  by  this  time." 

"It's  too  bad  Uncle  Barney  didn't  take  our  ad 
vice  and  either  have  those  deeds  recorded,  or  else 
place  them  in  some  bank  vault,"  said  Fred. 

"The  thing  now  is  to  see  if  we  can  trail  those 
fellows,  whoever  they  were,"  put  in  Randy. 

"That's  the  talk !"  cried  his  twin.  "No  use  of 
crying  over  spilt  milk,  as  the  cat  said  when  she 
tipped  the  pan  over  into  the  well,"  and  at  this  re 
mark  there  was  a  faint  smile. 

The  Rovers  had  drawn  to  one  side  to  talk  over 
the  situation  while  Barney  Stevenson  was  pre 
paring  to  accompany  them  from  the  cave.  The 
old  man  was  both  excited  and  worried.  He  cared 
little  about  the  wound  he  had  received  on  the 
head.  All  he  wanted  to  do  was  to  get  back  his 
treasure  box,  as  he  called  it. 

The  little  party  soon  reached  the  point  where 
289 


2go    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 

all  had  left  their  snowshoes.  They  looked  around 
with  care,  and  presently  made  out  a  trail  leading 
toward  the  lake  shore. 

"If  they  went  down  to  the  lake,  they  most  likely 
skated  away,"  remarked  Fred. 

It  was  an  easy  matter  to  follow  the  trail 
through  the  snow.  It  led  up  to  the  vicinity  of 
some  rough  rocks,  and  here  turned  southward. 

"I  guess  they  reasoned  that  they  couldn't  get 
over  those  rocks,"  remarked  Uncle  Barney. 
"Maybe  they  were  afraid  of  a  bad  tumble.  I  wish 
they  had  gone  over  them  and  broken  their  necks !" 
he  added  bitterly. 

"If  only  they  had  dropped  the  treasure  box  in 
the  snow!"  murmured  Fred. 

"No  such  luck  for  us,  Fred,"  responded  Jack. 
"I'm  afraid  that  box  and  its  precious  contents  are 
far  away  by  this  time." 

They  continued  to  follow  the  footprints,  and  at 
the  end  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour  found  themselves 
at  something  of  a  clearing  between  the  trees. 
Here  those  who  had  stolen  the  box  had  evidently 
stopped  to  rest,  for  it  could  be  seen  where  they 
had  been  seated  on  a  fallen  log,  and  where  they 
had  placed  the  box. 

"Look  here!"  cried  Jack,  who  was  inspecting 
the  ground  closely.  "Just  as  I  thought — those 
fellows  were  Slugger  and  Nappy,  I  feel  certain." 


THE  DISCOVERY  291 

He  pointed  to  several  half -burnt  matches,  and 
also  a  number  of  cigarette  stubs. 

"I  guess  you're  right,"  returned  Randy.  "I'm 
quite  sure  Asa  Lemm  doesn't  smoke  cigarettes, 
and  when  he  was  on  the  island  Mr.  Brown  was 
smoking  a  black-looking  cigar." 

"Well,  if  those  boys  stole  the  box,  they  will 
most  likely  turn  it  over  to  the  professor  and 
Brown,"  said  Uncle  Barney.  "Oh,  if  only  I  could 
get  my  hands  on  them !"  and  his  eyes  flashed. 

The  trail  now  led  through  a  patch  of  woods  and 
went  into  something  of  a  semicircle.  Then  there 
was  a  little  loop,  which  caused  the  boys  some  per 
plexity,  but  did  not  bother  the  old  lumberman. 

"They  lost  their  way — that's  all,"  explained 
Uncle  Barney.  "But,  after  moving  around  in  a 
loop,  they  headed  in  this  direction,"  and  he 
pointed  with  his  hand.  "Come  on !  Maybe  they 
got  hopelessly  lost  further  on  and  are  still  in  the 
woods.  I  hope  so." 

The  trail  led  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  woods 
and  wound  in  and  out  among  a  number  of  rocks. 
It  was  plainly  evident  that  Slugger  and  Nappy 
had  lost  their  way,  and  had  made  a  number  of 
false  turns. 

"Here  is  where  they  rested  again,"  announced 
Jack  presently,  and  showed  where  some  rocks 
had  been  swept  clear  of  the  snow. 


292    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"Yes,  and  they  stopped  long  enough  to  have 
something  to  eat,"  added  Randy.  "Here  are  a 
crust  of  bread  and  some  cake  crumbs." 

The  trail  continued  to  wind  in  and  out  among 
the  woods,  and  the  Rovers  and  the  old  lumber 
man  followed  it  for  fully  an  hour  longer.  Then 
they  came  out  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  island. 

"I  guess  this  is  the  end  of  it,"  announced  Uncle 
Barney  dismally.  "They  probably  skated  away 
from  this  point." 

"No,  they  didn't !"  cried  Jack,  who  was  making 
an  examination  of  the  footprints.  "They  went 
down  the  lake  shore." 

"I'll  tell  you  what  I  think!"  said  Randy, 
"They  most  likely  wanted  to  get  to  Rockville,  and 
they  were  afraid  that  if  they  attempted  to  cross 
to  the  other  side  of  the  island  they  would  become 
lost  again.  So  instead  of  going  across,  they  went 
down  to  the  lower  end." 

"Here  come  two  men !"  cried  Randy  suddenly. 
He  had  been  peering  out  on  the  surface  of  the 
lake. 

"Maybe  they  are  Professor  Lemm  and  Mr. 
Brown,"  suggested  Andy. 

The  men  were  at  a  great  distance,  but  skating 
rapidly  toward  the  island.  As  they  came  closer, 
Jack  saw  that  they  were  strangers,  and  he  waved 
his  cap  and  shouted  at  them. 


THE   DISCOVERY 


293 


"They  may  have  seen  Slugger  and  Nappy,  or 
else  they  may  have  some  news  for  us,"  he  said. 

As  the  two  strangers  came  closer,  Uncle  Bar 
ney  looked  at  them  curiously.  Then  he  drew  him 
self  up  and  his  face  stiffened. 

"Don't  you  know  those  two  men?"  he  ques 
tioned  rather  sharply,  turning  to  the  boys. 

"No,"  answered  Jack,  and  the  others  shook 
their  heads. 

"The  man  ahead  is  Fred  Stevenson,  and  the 
other  is  Mr.  Powell." 

"Oh,  is  that  so!"  exclaimed  Jack;  and  then 
without  further  ado  he  ran  out  on  the  ice  to  meet 
the  newcomers. 

"So  this  is  Jack  Rover,  eh?"  said  Mr.  Steven 
son,  shaking  hands  warmly.  "I'm  glad  to  know 
you;  and  I  must  thank  you  for  sending  me  that 
telegram." 

"I  sincerely  hope  you  can  patch  up  your  dif 
ferences  with  old  Uncle  Barney,"  answered  Jack 
quietly.  "He's  in  a  peck  of  trouble  just 
now." 

"Why,  what  has  happened  ?"  questioned  Ruth'a 
father.  "But  excuse  me,"  he  added.  "This  is  my 
friend,  Mr.  Powell." 

By  this  time  the  other  Rovers  had  come  for 
ward,  and  all  told  the  two  men  of  what  had  taken 
place.  In  the  meantime,  Uncle  Barney  re- 


294    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

mained  behind  on  the  lake  shore,  resting  on  his 
gun  and  eyeing  the  visitors  speculatively. 

"I  wish  you  would  all  do  me  a  favor,"  said 
Mr.  Stevenson,  in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  so  that 
the  old  lumberman  might  not  hear.  "I  wish  you 
would  give  me  a  chance  to  speak  to  Uncle  Bar 
ney  alone." 

"Certainly  we'll  give  you  that  chance,  Mr. 
Stevenson,"  answered  Jack  readily.  "We  are 
after  the  two  rascals  who  stole  that  treasure  box. 
Tell  Uncle  Barney  that  we  are  going  to  continue 
the  hunt  while  you  are  doing  your  talking. 
Maybe  Mr.  Powell  would  like  to  go  with  us." 

"Certainly.  I  don't  want  to  interfere  with  this 
affair  between  these  other  men,"  was  the  quick 
reply. 

Leaving  Ruth's  father  to  talk  matters  over  with 
the  old  lumberman,  the  Rover  boys  and  Mr.  Pow 
ell  began  the  journey  down  the  side  of  Snow- 
shoe  Island.  As  they  proceeded,  the  boys  told 
the  man  many  of  the  particulars  of  how  Profes 
sor  Lemm  and  Mr.  Brown,  accompanied  by  Slug 
ger  and  Nappy,  had  come  to  the  island  to  take 
possession,  and  then  how  the  old  lumberman  had 
been  attacked  in  the  cave  and  how  the  precious 
blue  tin  box  had  been  stolen. 

"That's  certainly  carrying  matters  with  a  high 
hand,"  was  Mr.  Powell's  comment.  "I  sincerely 


THE  DISCOVERY  295 

trust  the  old  man  gets  the  box  back.  If  he  doesn't, 
it  may  cause  him  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  espe 
cially  if  those  deeds  have  not  been  recorded  since 
the  old  courthouse  burnt  down.  I  remember  well 
that  that  fire  caused  a  great  deal  of  trouble  among 
property  owners  in  this  county." 

He  told  the  boys  that  he  and  his  wife  and 
daughter  May  had  been  visiting  the  Stevensons 
at  the  time  the  Rovers'  telegram  arrived.  He  had 
left  his  wife  and  daughter  to  continue  the  visit, 
and  had  accompanied  Mr.  Stevenson  on  the  trip 
just  for  the  sake  of  a  little  outing. 

"This  quarrel  between  old  Uncle  Barney,  as 
he  is  called,  and  the  Stevensons  is  all  nonsense," 
he  declared  flatly.  "It  could  have  been  cleared  up 
years  ago  if  the  old  man  would  only  have  listened 
to  reason.  But  he  was  much  upset  by  his  finan 
cial  losses,  and  more  upset  when  his  wife  died,  and 
he  wouldn't  listen  to  a  word.  Now  that  he  is 
willing  to  talk  I  am  sure  they  can  patch  it  up." 

About  a  mile  was  covered,  and  then  the  Rov 
ers  and  Mr.  Powell  found  where  Slugger  and 
Nappy  had  gone  ashore  again  at  a  point  where 
the  island  was  quite  low. 

"I'll  wager  they  thought  they  could  cross  here 
with  ease,  and  thus  save  themselves  the  trouble 
of  going  around  the  south  point,"  said  Jack,  and 
in  this  surmise  he  was  correct. 


296    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

Once  again  the  trail  led  into  the  woods,  and 
now  it  was  fairly  straight  up  to  a  point  where  the 
ground  became  rougher.  Here  they  found  the 
snow  scattered  around  some  rocks,  and  rightly 
guessed  that  one  of  the  youths  had  had  a  tumble. 

"And  I  guess  the  tumble  must  have  hurt  some," 
announced  Randy.  "Look  at  those  footprints  fur 
ther  on,  will  you?  One  of  the  fellows  did  a  lot 
of  limping." 

"Maybe  he  twisted  his  ankle,  or  something  like 
that !"  cried  Andy. 

"It's  too  bad  he  didn't  hurt  himself  so  severely 
that  he  couldn't  go  any  further,"  grumbled  Fred. 

"It  won't  be  long  now  before  we  come  out  near 
that  cabin  where  we  stayed  during  that  awful 
snowstorm,"  said  Jack. 

It  was  now  well  along  in  tht  middle  of  the  af 
ternoon,  and  the  Rovers  rightly  concluded  that 
this  point  had  not  been  reached  by  Slugger  and 
Nappy  until  late  the  day  before. 

"If  one  of  them  was  hurt,  they  wouldn't  want 
to  skate  away  over  to  Rockville  in  the  dark,"  said 
Randy.  "Maybe  they  stayed  on  this  island  all 
night." 

"There  is  that  old  cabin!"  exclaimed  Fred,  as 
they  reached  a  cleared  space  and  could  see  some 
distance  ahead. 

The   little  cabin  was  thickly   surrounded  by 


THE  DISCOVERY 


297 


snow,  and  looked  very  much  as  it  had  when  they 
had  left  it.  But  to  their  surprise,  not  to  say  de 
light,  they  saw  a  thin  wreath  of  smoke  curling  up 
out  of  the  chimney. 

"Somebody  is  there  as  sure  as  fate !"  exclaimed 
Jack. 

"Come  on,  let's  see  who  it  is !"  burst  out  Randy. 

All  hurried  forward,  making  no  noise  in  the 
snow,  and  soon  reached  the  side  of  the  cabin. 
Then  Jack,  who  was  in  advance,  peered  in  through 
a  corner  of  the  broken-out  window,  pulling  aside 
the  nailed-up  blanket  for  that  purpose. 

The  sight  which  met  his  gaze  filled  him  with 
surprise  and  satisfaction.  On  a  rude  couch  at  one 
side  of  the  single  room  of  which  the  structure 
boasted,  rested  Slugger  Brown,  his  ankle  tied  up 
in  a  rude  bandage.  In  front  of  the  fire  sat  Nappy 
Martell  with  the  old  lumberman's  treasure  box 
on  his  lap.  Nappy  had  a  knife  in  one  hand,  and, 
with  the  file  blade,  was  trying  to  file  apart  the 
padlock  to  the  box. 


I 


CHAPTER  XXX 

SETTLING   ACCOUNTS CONCLUSION 

"How  are  you  making  out?"  those  outside  the 
cabin  heard  Slugger  Brown  ask. 

"It's  slow  work  with  such  a  small  file,"  grumb 
led  Nappy  Martell.  "If  I  had  a  big  file  I  could 
get  the  padlock  off  in  no  time." 

"What's  the  matter  with  smashing  it  off  with 
a  rock?"  growled  the  bully.  He  arose  to  his  feet 
and  hobbled  to  where  his  crony  sat.  "Give  it  to 
me — I'll  soon  have  it  off !" 

"Come  on,"  whispered  Jack  to  his  cousins  and 
Mr.  Powell.  "They  are  in  there  and  trying  to 
open  the  treasure  box !" 

It  took  the  party  but  a  few  seconds  to  reach 
the  door  of  the  cabin.  Jack  pushed  upon  it,  to  find 
the  barrier  locked  in  some  manner  from  the  in 
side. 

"Hello!  who's  there?"  shouted  Slugger. 

"Maybe  it's  your  father  and  Professor  Lemm 
come  back,"  added  Nappy. 

The  bully  came  to  the  door  and  threw  it  open. 
298 


SETTLING   ACCOUNTS— CONCLUSION      299 

When  he  found  himself  confronted  by  the  Rov 
ers  and  a  strange  man,  he  fell  back  in  consterna 
tion. 

"You!"  he  gasped.  "How — er — did  you  get 
here?" 

"You  let  us  alone!"  cried  Nappy,  in  alarm; 
and,  leaping  to  his  feet,  he  tried  to  hide  the  pre 
cious  box  behind  him. 

"So  we've  got  you,  have  we  ?"  exclaimed  Jack. 
"Nappy,  you  hand  over  that  box." 

"I — I  don't  know  what  you  mean,"  stammered 
the  lad  addressed. 

"See  here!  you  haven't  any  right  to  come  in 
here  in  this  fashion,"  blustered  Slugger,  recover 
ing  somewhat  from  his  surprise. 

"Haven't  we  though !"  broke  out  Randy. 

"We've  caught  you,  and  we  intend  to  make  you 
suffer  for  what  you've  done,"  said  Andy. 

As  lame  as  he  was,  Slugger  attempted  to  edge 
his  way  toward  the  door,  thinking  he  might  get 
a  chance  to  run  away.  But  Jack  caught  him  by 
the  arm  and  sent  him  flying  backward  into  a  cor 
ner  of  the  cabin. 

"You'll  stay  right  where  you  are,  Slugger 
Brown !"  declared  the  oldest  Rover  boy.  "Don't 
you  dare  to  run  away!" 

By  this  time  Randy  and  Fred  had  approached 
Nappy,  and  suddenly  the  youngest  Rover  darted 


300 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSftOE  ISLAND 


behind  the  youth  and  snatched  the  blue  tin  box 
from  his  grasp. 

"Hi!  you  give  me  that  box!"  stormed  Nappy. 
"You've  no  right  to  take  it  from  me!"  and  then 
he,  too,  tried  to  run  from  the  cabin.  He  got  as 
far  as  the  doorway  when  Andy  put  out  his  foot 
and  sent  him  headlong  into  the  snow  outside. 
Then  Andy  quickly  sat  down  on  him,  and,  rush 
ing  up,  Randy  did  the  same. 

"Don — don't  smash  me!"  spluttered  Nappy, 
whose  face  was  partly  in  the  snow. 

"We're  not  going  to  let  you  get  away,"  came 
firmly  from  Andy. 

"Let's  tie  his  hands  behind  him  and  make  him 
a  prisoner,"  suggested  his  twin,  and  this  the  two 
boys  proceeded  to  do,  using  some  skate  straps  for 
that  purpose. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Slugger  attempted  to  draw 
a  pistol,  but  was  promptly  hurled  back  by  Jack 
and  Fred.  Then  Mr.  Powell  disarmed  the  youth, 
and  he,  too,  was  made  a  prisoner. 

"You'll  catch  it  for  treating  us  this  way!" 
growled  Slugger,  when  he  realized  that  he  could 
do  no  more.  "Just  wait  until  my  father  hears 
of  this  r 

"And  just  you  wait,  Slugger,  until  Mr.  Stev 
enson  gets  here,"  retorted  Jack,  and  this  answer 
made  the  bully  turn  pale. 


SETTLING   ACCOUNTS— CONCLUSION 


301 


Now  that  the  two  rascals  had  been  captured, 
the  Rover  boys  felt  very  much  elated,  the  more 
so  since  they  had  recovered  Uncle  Barney's  treas 
ure  box  without  the  contents  having  been  dis 
turbed. 

"Won't  he  be  glad!"  murmured  Fred,  as  he 
looked  the  box  over. 

"Let's  go  out  and  see  if  we  can't  signal  to  him 
in  some  way,"  returned  Randy. 

He  went  outside  and  three  shots  were  fired  in 
rapid  succession,  a  signal  which  had  been  agreed 
upon  when  the  boys  had  first  gone  out  hunting. 
After  the  signal  had  been  given,  Mr.  Powell 
said  he  would  go  out  and  watch  for  the  coming 
of  the  Stevensons.  While  he  was  doing  this,  the 
Rovers  talked  matters  over  with  Slugger  and 
Nappy. 

*  "You're  a  fine  pair  to  act  in  this  fashion,"  said 
Jack  sternly.  "Don't  you  know  you  might  have 
killed  Barney  Stevenson?" 

"Oh,  we  didn't  hurt  him  much,"  grumbled 
Slugger. 

"And  it  was  stealing  to  run  off  with  this  box  I" 
said  Randy. 

"No,  it  wasn't !  That  box  has  got  deeds  in  it 
that  ought  to  go  to  my  father!" 

"I  don't  believe  it,  Slugger.  Those  deeds  be 
long  to  Barney  Stevenson." 


302    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

A  minute  or  two  later  all  those  in  the  cabin 
heard  Mr.  Powell  give  a  shout. 

"A  couple  of  men  are  coming !"  he  cried. 

"It's  my  dad  and  Professor  Lemm !"  broke  out 
Slugger.  "Now  you  fellows  will  catch  it !" 

"Be  on  your  guard,  everybody !"  sang  out  Jack 
to  his  cousins,  and  each  of  them  caught  up  his 
gun  and  waited. 

A  few  minutes  later,  Professor  Lemm  and  Mr. 
Brown  appeared  in  front  of  the  cabin.  Their 
arms  were  full  of  camp  supplies.  Evidently,  this 
place  had  been  a  rendezvous  for  the  entire  Brown 
party  for  several  days.  It  was  from  here  that 
Slugger  and  Nappy  had  gone  up  to  the  other  end 
bf  the  island  to  spy  upon  Uncle  Barney. 

"What  is  the  meaning  of  this?"  demanded  Mr. 
Brown,  when  he  found  himself  confronted  by 
the  Rovers. 

"It  means  that  we  have  made  your  son  and 
Nappy  Martell  prisoners,"  explained  Jack  calmly. 

"Prisoners !" 

"Yes.  And  I  think  more  than  likely  we'll  have 
to  hand  them  over  to  the  authorities." 

"I  don't  understand  this  at  all,"  put  in  Asa 
Lemm,  and  his  voice  trembled  a  little. 

Mr.  Powell  had  now  come  up,  and  the  Rovers 
told  him  who  the  men  were.  He  at  once  took 
charge  of  matters. 


SETTLING   ACCOUNTS— CONCLUSION 


3<>3 


"This  is  a  serious  business,  Mr.  Brown,"  he 
said  sternly.  "Your  son  and  this  other  young 
man  attacked  old  Barney  Stevenson  in  a  most 
outrageous  manner  and  robbed  him  of  a  box  of 
valuables.  What  Mr.  Stevenson  will  do  in  the 
matter  I  don't  know.  I  expect  him  here  very 
shortly." 

At  once  there  was  a  wordy  quarrel,  Mr.  Brown 
showing  his  temper  in  anything  but  a  dignified 
manner.  He  wanted  his  son  and  Nappy  released, 
and  threatened  all  sorts  of  things,  but  all  to  no 
purpose.  Mr.  Powell  was  obdurate,  and  the  Rov 
ers  kept  themselves  in  readiness  to  use  their  fire 
arms  should  the  occasion  require.  Asa  Lemm  had 
little  to  say. 

The  discussion  was  growing  exceedingly  warm 
when  there  came  another  interruption,  and  Uncle 
Barney,  followed  by  Frederic  Stevenson,  burst 
into  the  cabin.  The  old  lumberman  gazed  at  the 
assembled  crowd,  and  then  at  the  Rovers. 

"My  box?  Did  you  find  my  box?"  he  ques 
tioned  quickly. 

"Yes,  Uncle  Barney,  we've  got  the  box  safe 
and  sound,"  answered  Jack,  and  .handed  it  over. 

"Did  those  young  rascals  have  it?"  and  Uncle 
Barney  pointed  to  Slugger  and  Nappy. 

"Yes.  And  that  fellow  was  trying  to  file  away 
the  padlock  when  we  got  here." 


304 


THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOWSHOE  ISLAND 


"You  whelps,  you!"  cried  the  old  lumberman, 
his  eyes  blazing.  And  as  he  strode  toward  Slug 
ger  and  Nappy  they  shrank  back  as  far  as  the 
corner  of  the  cabin  permitted. 

"Don't  you  hit  me — don't  you  dare!"  howled 
the  bully. 

"I — I  didn't  mean  anything  by  it!"  whined 
Nappy.  He  was  now  thoroughly  cowed. 

Another  war  of  words  followed,  and  the  dis 
cussion  grew  even  hotter  than  before.  Again  Mr. 
Brown  threatened  all  sorts  of  things,  but  Uncle 
Barney  simply  laughed  at  him.  Then  Frederic 
Stevenson  took  a  hand. 

"Uncle  Barney,"  he  said,  catching  the  old  man 
by  the  shoulder,  "you  let  me  manage  this  for 
you,  will  you  ?" 

"All  right,  Fred.  You  do  as  you  please — only 
they  can't  have  Snowshoe  Island,"  was  the  old 
man's  answer.  Evidently  the  long  standing  dif 
ferences  between  the  pair  had  been  patched  up 
at  last. 

"What  I've  got  to  say,  I  can  say  in  very  few 
words,"  came  from  Ruth's  father,  as  he  con 
fronted  Mr.  Brown  and  Professor  Lemm.  "You 
have  tried  to  carry  matters  here  with  a  high  hand, 
and  the  result  has  been  that  you  have  laid  your 
selves  liable  to  a  suit  at  law,  while  those  two 
young  rascals  are  liable  to  go  to  prison." 


SETTLING   ACCOUNTS— CONCLUSION      305 

"Oh,  Dad!  don't  let  them  have  us  arrested!" 
pleaded  Slugger. 

"I  don't  want  to  bother  with  the  law — I  want 
to  be  left  alone,"  said  Uncle  Barney  in  a  low 
voice. 

"This  island  belongs  to  my  relative  here — Mr. 
Barnard  Stevenson,"  proceeded  Ruth's  father. 
"He  has  a  free  and  clear  title  to  it,  as  I  well  know. 
I  understand  something  of  your  underhanded 
work,  Brown.  And  I  understand,  too,  how  you 
and  Professor  Lemm  found  out  that  this  island 
contained  some  very  valuable  zinc  ore  beds.  But 
your  scheme  to  gain  possession  of  this  place  has 
fallen  through." 

"Don't  be  so  sure  of  that!"  snarled  Slugger's 
father. 

"I  am  sure  of  it.  Unless  you  leave  my  relative 
here  alone,  you  are  going  to  get  yourself  into 
pretty  hot  water.  And  not  only  that — if  you 
bother  him  again,  I'll  see  to  it  that  your  son  and 
that  other  young  man  are  sent  to  prison  for  what 
they  have  done." 

"Say!  will  you  let  us  go  if  my  dad  gives  up 
his  claim  to  the  island  ?"  broke  in  Slugger  eagerly. 

"If  your  father  and  Professor  Lemm  will 
promise  never  to  bother  Barnard  Stevenson  in 
the  future,  I  think  he'll  be  willing  to  let  this  case 
against  you  drop." 


306    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

"All  right  then.  Dad,  let's  do  that.  We  don't 
want  the  old  island,  anyhow !" 

"You  can't  do  anything  without  those  deeds," 
added  Nappy. 

"Shut  up !  You  boys  make  me  sick !"  grunted 
Mr.  Brown. 

"But  Martell  is  right — we  can't  do  anything 
without  the  deeds,"  whispered  Professor  Lemm. 
He  was  growing  more  fearful  every  moment  over 
the  outcome  of  what  had  taken  place. 

More  words  followed,  but  in  the  end  Mr. 
Brown  and  Professor  Lemm  promised  to  let  their 
so-called  claim  on  Snowshoe  Island  drop.  Then 
Slugger  and  Nappy  were  released,  and  all  were 
told  to  take  their  departure  as  soon  as  possible. 

"You  think  you're  smart,  don't  you?"  grumb- 
bled  Slugger  to  Jack,  when  he  was  ready  to  go. 
"You  just  wait,  Jack  Rover!  I'm  not  going  to 
forget  you  and  your  cousins  in  a  hurry !" 

"And  I  won't  forget  you,  either !"  added  Nappy 
Martell. 

What  these  two  unworthies  did  in  the  future  to 
worry  the  Rovers  will  be  told  in  another  volume, 
to  be  entitled,  "The  Rover  Boys  Under  Canvas; 
Or,  The  Mystery  of  the  Wrecked  Submarine." 
In  that  volume  we  shall  meet  many  of  our  old 
friends  again,  and  learn  the  particulars  of  some 
out-of-the-ordinary  happenings. 


SETTLING   ACCOUNTS— CONCLUSION 


307 


"Well,  I'm  mighty  glad  they're  gone,"  said 
Fred,  after  the  visitors  had  disappeared  in  the 
distance. 

"Glad  doesn't  express  it!"  added  Andy.  "I 
could  fairly  dance  a  jig  for  joy !" 

"And  to  think  we  saved  the  treasure  box!" 
broke  in  Jack. 

"That's  the  best  of  all,"  came  from  Randy. 

Old  Uncle  Barney  was  exceedingly  happy,  not 
only  to  have  the  box  restored  to  him,  but  also  be 
cause  the  trouble  between  himself  and  his  rela 
tives  had  been  completely  cleared  away. 

"I  guess  I  was  something  of  an  old  fool  to 
quarrel  with  Fred  and  his  family,"  he  remarked 
to  Jack  later  on,  when  talking  the  matter  over. 
"It  shows  that  a  man  should  not  be  too  hasty 
and  headstrong.  If  I  had  only  listened  in  the  first 
place,  all  this  would  never  have  happened." 

"I'm  glad  you're  friends  once  more,"  said 
Jack. 

"I  owe  you  boys  a  great  deal  for  this,  just  as 
I  owe  you  a  great  deal  for  saving  the  treasure 
box  and  saving  my  life  in  the  woods  that  time," 
answered  the  old  lumberman  with  feeling. 

The  next  day  was  spent  by  Uncle  Barney  and 
Mr.  Stevenson  in  going  over  the  matter  of  the 
deeds.  Ruth's  father  insisted  upon  it  that  they 
be  duly  recorded  and  then  placed  away  in  a  bank 


308    THE  ROVER  BOYS  ON  SNOW  SHOE  ISLAND 

vault.  It  may  be  added  here  that  later  on  this 
was  done,  and,  later  still,  the  zinc  ore  beds  on  the 
island  were  opened  up  and  found  to  be  fully  as 
valuable  as  anticipated.  Old  Uncle  Barney  be 
came  quite  a  rich  man,  and  took  up  his  home  with 
the  other  Stevensons. 

While  the  Stevensons  were  consulting  about  the 
deeds,  the  Rover  boys  went  out  on  another  hunt, 
this  time  accompanied  by  Mr.  Powell,  who  was 
quite  a  sportsman.  They  had  considerable  luck, 
bringing  in  over  a  dozen  rabbits,  four  squirrels 
and  several  partridges. 

"And  now  we've  got  to  get  ready  to  go  home," 
said  Jack,  a  day  or  two  later. 

"Yes.  And  get  ready  for  the  grind  at  Colby 
Hall,"  added  Fred. 

"But  we've  had  some  dandy  times  on  this  is 
land  !"  declared  Andy. 

"Couldn't  have  been  better !"  came  in  a  chorus. 

And  here  we  will  say  good-bye  to  the  Rover 
boys. 

THE  END 


THE  TOM  SWIFT  SERIES 

By  VICTOR  APPLETON 

Uniform   Style   of   Binding.      Individual    Colored   Wrapper*. 
_       Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Every  boy  possesses  some  form  of  inventive  genius. 
Tom  Swift  is  a.  bright,  ingenious  boy  and  his  inventions 
and  adventures  make  the  most  interesting  kind  of  reading. 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR  CYCLE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIRSHIP 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SUBMARINE  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  RUNABOUT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WIRELESS  MESSAGE 

TOM  SWIFT  AMONG  THE  DIAMOND  MAKERS 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  CAVES  OF  ICE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SKY  RACER 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  RIFLE 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  CITY  OF  GOLD 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  GLIDER 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  CAPTIVITY 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WIZARD  CAMERA 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GREAT  SEARCHLIGHT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GIANT  CANNON 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  PHOTO  TELEPHONE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AERIAL  WARSHIP 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  BIG  TUNNEL 

TOM  SWIFT  IN  THE  LAND  OF  WONDERS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  WAR  TANK 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIR  SCOUT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  UNDERSEA  SEARCH 

TOM  SWIFT  AMONG  THE  FIRE  FIGHTERS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  LOCOMOTIVE 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  FLYING  BOAT 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  GREAT  OIL  GUSHER 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  CHEST  OF  SECRETS 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIRLINE  EXPRESS 

GROSSET  &  DUXLAP,          PUBLISHERS,          NEW  YORK 


THE    DON    STURDY    SERIES 

By  VICTOR  APPLETON 

Individual  Colored  Wrappers  and  Text  Illustrations  by 

WALTER  S.  ROGERS 
Every  Volume  Complete   in  Itself 

In  company  with  his  uncles,  one  a  mighty  hunter  and 
the  other  a  noted  scientist,  Don  Sturdy  travels  far  and  wide, 
gaining  much  useful  knowledge  and  meeting  many  thrill 
ing  adventures. 

DON  STURDY  ON  THE  DESERT  OF  MYS- 
Or,  Autoing  in  the  Land  of  the  Caravans.  TERY; 

An  engrossing  tale  of  the  Sahara  Desert,  of  encounters 
with  wild  animals  and  crafty  Arabs. 

DON  STURDY  WITH  THE  BIG  SNAKE 
Or,  Lost  in  the  Jungles  of  the  Amazon.  HUNTERS; 
Don's  uncle,  the  hunter,  took  an  order  for  some  of  the 
biggest  snakes  to  be  found  in  South  America — to  be  deliv 
ered  alive  !  The  filling  of  that  order  brought  keen  excite 
ment  to  the  boy. 

DON  STURDY  IN  THE  TOMBS  OF  GOLD; 
Or,  The  Old  Egyptian's  Great  Secret. 

A  fascinating  tale  of  exploration  and  adventure  in  the 
Valley  of  Kings  in  Egypt.  Once  the  whole  party  became 
lost  in  the  maze  of  cavelike  tombs  far  underground. 

DON  STURDY  ACROSS  THE  NORTH  POLE; 
Or,  Cast  Away  in  the  Land  of  Ice. 

Don  and  his  uncles  joined  an  expedition  bound  by  air 
across  the  north  pole.  A  great  polar  blizzard  nearly  wrecks 
the  airship. 

DON  STURDY  IN  THE  LAND  OF  VOLCANOES; 
Or,  The  Trail  of  the  Ten  Thousand  Smokes. 

An  absorbing  tale  of  adventures  among  the  volcanoes  of 
Alaska  in  a  territory  but  recently  explored.  A  story  that 
will  make  Don  dearer  to  his  readers  than  ever. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  PUBLISHERS,         NEW  YORK 


THE    RADIO    BOYS   SERIES 

(Trademark  Registered) 

By  ALLEN  CHAPMAN 
Author  of  the  "Railroad  Series,"  Etc. 

Individual  Colored  Wrappers.     Illustrated. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

A  new  series  for  boys  giving  full  details  of  radio  work, 
both  in  sending  and  receiving — telling  how  small  and 
large  amateur  sets  can  be  made  and  operated,  and  how 
some  boys  got  a  lot  of  fun  and  adventure  out  of  what  they 
did.  Each  volume  from  first  to  last  is  so  thoroughly  fas 
cinating,  so  strictly  up-to-date  and  accurate,  we  feel  sure 
all  lads  will  peruse  them  with  great  delight. 

Each  volume  has  a  Foreword  by  Jack  Binns,  the  well- 
known  radio  expert. 

THE  RADIO  BOYS'  FIRST  WIRELESS; 
Or,  Winning  the  Ferberton  Prize. 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  AT  OCEAN  POINT; 
Or,  The  Messsage  That  Saved  the  Ship. 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  AT  THE  SENDING 

Or,  Making  Good  in  the  Wireless  Room.    STATION ; 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  AT  MOUNTAIN  PASS; 
Or,  The  Midnight  Call  for  Assistance. 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  TRAILING  A  VOICE; 
Or,  Solving  a  Wireless  Mystery. 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  WITH  THE  FOREST 

Or,  The  Great  Fire  on  Spruce  Mountain.    RANGERS ; 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  WITH  THE  ICEBERG 

Or,  Making  Safe  the  Ocean  Lanes.  PATROL; 

RADIO  BOYS  WITH  THE  FLOOD  FIGHTERS; 
Or,  Saving  the  City  in  the  Valley. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,          PUBLISHERS,          NEW  YORK 


THE  RAILROAD  SERIES 

By  ALLEN  CHAPMAN 
Author  of  the  "Radio  Boys,"  Etc. 

Uniform  Style  of  Binding.     Illustrated. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

In  this  line  of  books  there  is  revealed  the  whole  workings 
of  a  great  American  railroad  system.  There  are  adventures 
in  abundance — railroad  wrecks,  dashes  through  forest  fires, 
the  pursuit  of  a  "wildcat"  locomotive,  the  disappearance  of 
a  pay  car  with  a  large  sum  of  money  on  board — but  there 
is  much  more  than  this — the  intense  rivalry  among  railroads 
and  railroad  men,  the  working  out  of  running  schedules, 
the  getting  through  "on  time"  in  spite  of  all  obstacles,  and 
the  manipulation  of  railroad  securities  by  evil  men  who 
wish  to  rule  or  ruin. 

RALPH  OF  THE  ROUND  HOUSE- 
Or,  Bound  to  Become  a  Railroad  Man. 

RALPH  IN  THE  SWITCH  TOWER; 
Or,  Clearing  the  Track. 

RALPH  ON  THE  ENGINE; 

Or,  The  Young  Fireman  of  the  Limited  Mail. 

RALPH  ON  THE  OVERLAND  EXPRESS; 

Or,  The  Trials  and  Triumphs  of  a  Young  Engineer. 

RALPH,  THE  TRAIN  DISPATCHER; 
Or,  the  Mystery  of  the  Pay  Car. 

RALPH  ON  THE  ARMY  TRAIN; 

Or,  The  Young  Railroader's  Most  Daring  Exploit. 

RALPH  ON  THE  MIDNIGHT  FLYER; 
Or,  The  Wreck  at  Shadow  Valley. 

RALPH  AND  THE  MISSING  MAIL  POUCH; 
Or,  The  Stolen  Government  Bonds. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


AUGO  3 


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